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Chelsea’s Pedro Neto says who he thinks is a more skilful player between Cole Palmer and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka

Giuseppe Labellarte

Tue 15 April 2025 18:15, UK

Chelsea and Arsenal are two of the biggest clubs in the Premier League, having won considerable amounts of silverware between them over the years.

Although both of them have had some lean years of late, both Chelsea and Arsenal are on the up.

The Blues are pushing for a Champions League spot and are among the favourites to win the Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, the Gunners sit second in the Premier League table and are closing in on a Champions League semi-final spot.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal have some talismanic players in their ranks, such as England duo Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.

Pedro Neto has now shared who he thinks is a more skilful player between his Chelsea teammate and the Arsenal forward.

READ MORE: Marcelo shares the Real Madrid players’ mood about facing Arsenal and how confident they are about a comeback

Pedro Neto believes Cole Palmer is more skilful than Bukayo Saka

Neto, speaking to Sky Sports, was asked to rank a number of subjects, from fellow footballers to food and haircuts, from first to third.

When it came to the Premier League’s most skilful players, he was asked to pick between Palmer, Saka and Manchester City’s Savinho.

Neto listed Palmer in first place, followed by Saka, followed by Savinho.

On Palmer, he said: “The difference that he makes on the game and as well as the tricks that he has in small spaces, everybody can see so this is why I put him in first place.”

When asked if he had ever been nutmegged by Palmer, Neto said: “No, never! I have been nutmegged the ball passes (past me) but he doesn’t pass!”

On Saka, Neto said: “Really good player, I played against him a lot of times already.

“I like the way that he plays as well, so this why I put him second and the way that he (has) skills as well.”

TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that Arsenal are willing to offer Saka a new contract worth around £300,000-a-week.

How Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka compare

Palmer and Saka are two of the Premier League’s best players, as well as being among the best players in the England setup.

As is often the case, the question of which player is better is ultimately a subjective endeavour, although certain criteria can be looked at over a certain period of time.

Over the past 12 months, Palmer has excelled in plenty of metrics, including goals, total shots, shot-creating actions and progressive passes.

Meanwhile, Saka ranks especially highly in assists, shot-creating actions and opposition penalty touches, although the differences tend to be marginal.