Saka equals Arsenal record for consecutive appearances

Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has equalled a club record that had stood for over 26 years.

The 21-year-old has now featured in 82 consecutive Premier League matches for Arsenal, matching the tally achieved by Paul Merson between February 1995 and February 1997.

Centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes remains in the running for the club record after 75 successive appearances, the latest of those coming against Palace.

But after being named on the bench for the last two matches, coming on in the second half, his sequence appears to be at risk of ending soon.

Saka’s run of appearances is the longest current sequence among outfield players in the Premier League.

Gabriel is in second place, ahead of Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, who looks set for a sustained spell in the Bees’ line-up while Ivan Toney is banned. His team-mate Bryan Mbeumo is also among the top five Premier League players.

The all-time Premier League record for outfield players remains a long way away.

Indeed, Saka has exactly half the tally of the No 1 Frank Lampard, who made 164 consecutive appearances for Chelsea between October 2001 and December 2005.

Saka has featured in 137 games overall in the competition, has scored 32 times, provided 26 assists and has won 75 of the games, losing only 37 times.

He has also been named player of the month once (March 2023).