Bukayo Saka among most transferred-out players prior to Gameweek 13 – punishes doubters with 30-point mega haul

BUKAYO SAKA (£6.4m) was among the most transferred-out players in Dream Team prior to Gameweek 12.

And managers who ditched the Arsenal star have been severely punished after two spellbinding performances in the last four days.

Saka scored one goal and assisted another during the Gunners’ 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday for a 14-point return.

As if that wasn’t bad enough for gaffers who sought a replacement for the England international prior to the deadline, he then notched a goal and an assist away to Sporting CP in Lisbon on Tuesday night as part of a 16-point haul.

Saka is currently Gameweek 12’s top performer on 30 points and whether he retains that crown once the remaining fixtures are complete is largely irrelevant, the point is that bosses who stuck by him have been handsomely rewarded for their loyalty.

The 23-year-old returned just three points in Gameweek 11 but the reason he was ditched in droves is because he was deemed an injury doubt.

Dream Team managers are accustomed to availability uncertainty with Saka but it remains as difficult as ever to see through Mikel Arteta’s mind games.

Earlier in the campaign, the Spanish tactician gave an optimistic view of Saka’s chances of featuring against Bournemouth in Gameweek 8.

However, not only did the electric winger miss the trip to the south coast, he didn’t play a single minute at home to Shakhtar Donetsk three days later.

This sparked a huge number of transfers prior to Gameweek 9, amplified by more Arteta vagueness, only for Saka to start and score against Liverpool in the following fixture.

Saka pulled out of England duty for the November international break and had his training workload managed prior to the Forest game, which clearly prompted a significant portion of gaffers to look elsewhere – a foolish decision with the power of hindsight.

Inevitably, Saka will be among the most transferred-in players for Gameweek 13 and with good reason.

Martin Odegaard’s (£5.1m) return from injury has certainly improved Arsenal’s attacking play with Saka openly acknowledging his understanding with the Norwegian playmaker after victory in Portugal.

Additionally, Arteta’s side have relatively favourable fixtures from now until the new year, a run that could yield plentiful points.

ARSENAL FIXTURES

• GW13: West Ham (a), Manchester United (h)
• GW14: Fulham (a), Monaco (h)
• GW15: Everton (h), Crystal Palace (h)
• GW16: Crystal Palace (a), Ipswich (h)
• GW17: Brentford (a)

Saka’s mega haul has seen him carve out a bracket of his own among Dream Team midfielders.

He’s now on 155 points for the season, 36 clear of his nearest rival, James Maddison (£4.5m).

Only Mohamed Salah (£7.4m) and Erling Haaland (£8.6m) have more points among all assets.

Saka ranks first for big chances created (15), third for shots on target (22) and joint-first for assists (10) – he’s a top-tier Dream Team asset worthy of his price.