Without a Premier League goal since September, is Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka (£8.6m) still worth owning in FPL?
We take a look at the England man&#8217;s season so far, and whether or not he looks to be worth his price tag from a fantasy perspective.

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<h2>How did Saka perform in FPL Gameweek 12?</h2>
Arsenal hosted newly promoted Burnley in Gameweek 12, and the Clarets have been leaking goals for fun this season.
Those defensive frailties were on display case once again here, as Arsenal cruised to a 3-1 win over Burnley, although Saka only managed an assist.
This was also the case in Arsenal&#8217;s 5-0 win over Sheffield United in Gameweek 10, with those games either side of Saka&#8217;s blank away at Newcastle.
It&#8217;s fair to say it hasn&#8217;t been a scintillating season for Saka so far by his own high standards, but that could be by design rather than through fault.
His position in Gameweek 12 was indicative of the more creative position he sometimes takes up on the right wing, with very few touches inside the opposition penalty area.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-59697 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-19.44.50.jpg" alt="" width="866" height="706" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-19.44.50.jpg 866w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-19.44.50-300x245.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-19.44.50-768x626.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-19.44.50-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />
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<h2>Has Saka&#8217;s role changed in recent weeks?</h2>
Splitting the season so far into two, there looks to be a pretty clear disparity between Saka&#8217;s respective average positions.
He was spending much more time in the opposition box over the first six gameweeks, as well as less time in his own defensive third.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-59757 size-full aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-15.41.12.jpg" alt="" width="794" height="648" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-15.41.12.jpg 794w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-15.41.12-300x245.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-15.41.12-768x627.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-15.41.12-610x498.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" />
When comparing Saka&#8217;s heatmap with teammate Gabriel Martinelli on the other side, you can see that the Brazilian is spending more time in the opposition box since Gameweek 8, and less time Arsenal&#8217;s own defensive third.
This indicates that the slight positional shift in recent weeks has more to do with Saka&#8217;s role than with the drop-off in Arsenal&#8217;s attacking <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/">stats</a>, which sees them ranked as the seventh best attack so far &#8211; a steep decline from the dizzy heights of last season.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-59695" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32.jpg" alt="" width="1146" height="930" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32.jpg 1146w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32-300x243.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32-1024x831.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32-768x623.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32-610x495.jpg 610w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-14-at-17.39.32-1080x876.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1146px) 100vw, 1146px" />
It&#8217;s perhaps indicative of Saka&#8217;s willingness to play a facilitating role in the buildup as Arsenal attack, particularly in the tougher games where Mikel Arteta&#8217;s side are made to work. Whether this is by design or by chance, only Arteta knows.
For instance, Saka&#8217;s average position was reasonably high up the pitch against Burnley and Sheffield United, which is to be expected, given the relative quality of Arsenal&#8217;s players and their subsequent domination of those games
But the Newcastle game was more telling; when Arsenal are in a more competitive game, there appears to be a tendency for Saka to end up both deeper and wider than his FPL owners might like.
In the example shown below, not only is Saka deeper than the other attacking players, but he&#8217;s barely more advanced the likes of Declan Rice, Jorginho, and even Takehiro Tomiyasu.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-59699 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.07.39.jpg" alt="" width="794" height="646" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.07.39.jpg 794w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.07.39-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.07.39-768x625.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.07.39-610x496.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" />
It&#8217;s a situation that is somewhat reminiscent of Mohamed Salah taking up a more creative role on the right wing following the arrival of Darwin Nunez, although there is less of a clear reason for the shift here.
In Saka&#8217;s case things are arguably worse, as Liverpool play with three attackers while Arsenal play with four. This means Saka&#8217;s share of the attacking returns is limited &#8211; and not only that, but the inclusion of a number ten in the Gunners&#8217; attack pushes Saka further out wide.
Although this doesn&#8217;t explain the recent change in Saka&#8217;s output, it remains the case that he is liable to play as a winger in the traditional sense, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus frequently occupying the central spaces.
While Saka&#8217;s shots in the box are more restricted as a result of this, Salah for example is still playing largely as a wide forward, and is seeing more chances as a result, despite the two having similar Expected Assists (xA) output.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-59700 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.14.35.jpg" alt="" width="798" height="648" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.14.35.jpg 798w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.14.35-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.14.35-768x624.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.14.35-610x495.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 798px) 100vw, 798px" />
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<h2>Is Saka worth the money in FPL?</h2>
If you already own him, it&#8217;s worth considering the value of holding Saka in the short term regardless of price; Arsenal have some decent home fixtures against Wolves and Brighton in the next five, as well as a trip to Luton.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-59698 aligncenter" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.02.42.jpg" alt="" width="796" height="648" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.02.42.jpg 796w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.02.42-300x244.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.02.42-768x625.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-20-at-21.02.42-610x497.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 796px) 100vw, 796px" />
Despite a perceived drop-off, the England man still has an impressive 10 returns across his opening 11 appearances, with four goals and six assists.
While he has underwhelmed in the high-upside games against Burnley and Sheffield United, Saka still tends to be the most consistent attacker for the Gunners.
Whether or not he is on penalties remains up for debate, but he has a multitude of attacking outlets in his locker, including set-pieces and plenty of assists as well as his open play goal threat.
Given the upcoming run of fixtures, and injuries to other key midfield options such as <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-injury-concerns-gameweek-13/">Jarrod Bowen</a>, removing Saka looks unlikely to be a priority for FPL managers as it stands.
If you believe you can use the money better elsewhere however, there is certainly an argument to jump off.
Saka&#8217;s goal output and underlying data are both down on last season, and it looks like Arsenal will continue to spread the goals around their attacking players, as they build upon the success of last season through new signings such as Kai Havertz and Declan Rice.
Saka is rated at 35% to score at anytime, and is also at 46% to return this week, according to our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/predictions">Hub AI tool.</a>
He is predicted to score the sixth-most points among all players in Gameweek 13.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-59752" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39.jpg" alt="" width="890" height="1162" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39.jpg 890w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39-230x300.jpg 230w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39-784x1024.jpg 784w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39-768x1003.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Screenshot-2023-11-22-at-12.42.39-610x796.jpg 610w" sizes="(max-width: 890px) 100vw, 890px" />
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Is Bukayo Saka worth the money in FPL?

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