Arsenal legend Ian Wright says he was left disappointed by the comments that Rio Ferdinand made about Bukayo Saka.

The TNT Sports pundit suggested that the England international is not a world-class talent, prompting consternation from Arsenal supporters. Weighing in on the discussion, Wright said Ferdinand’s remarks were designed to provoke a reaction:

“You know the whole thing about it, when Rio said it, it feels very clickbait-y, very banal. It’s so subjective. It’s just one of those it’s just about clicks in saying something like that. Because I can’t imagine what Bukayo would have gone through, because let me tell you something for a fact that will happen, he will have seen it, he will have heard it and they will have had to deal with it”

“If I’m him, I’m probably a little bit p****d off about that. And I’d probably be a bit p****d off with Rio about it for bringing it up like it is because it’s narrative of everything, especially when you listen to TNT.”

What does “World-Class” even mean anyway?

As Wright points out himself, the whole debate about which players are “world-class” is entirely subjective. It’s not a very interesting argument in the grand scheme of things.

Everyone has different criteria to assess how a player performs, but what’s more important is the contribution they make to the team.

Saka has more than proven his worth to Arsenal

The winger is doing his talking on the pitch, rather than rising to remarks made by pundits. He got on the scoresheet once again at the weekend, bagging his 16th goal of the season during the 4-1 win over Newcastle.

Including assists, Saka now has 29 goal involvements in all competitions, which is the most he has made in any single campaign, and we are still only in February. No matter what anyone says, he is a top-drawer player.