Bukayo Saka is a homegrown Arsenal talent from England born on the 5th of September, 2001 and has been at the club for his entire senior career and a large majority of his youth career. Saka started playing football at an early age at his local side Greenford Celtic before being scouted by Watford. However, his fledgling career at Watford did not last long, as at the age of seven, Bukayo Sake moved to join Arsenal youth academy.
Although Saka was at the football academy of a top team this did not stop him from making the most of his high school education. In his GCSEs, he got top marks and achieved nothing but A*s and As before he fully committed to playing football at Arsenal.
Arsenal Career
Bukayo Saka has been at Arsenal since the age of seven and, in his time at the club, he has played for the Arsenal youth team, Arsenal U18, and Arsenal U21, and is now a regular starter in the Arsenal first team.
Started Playing for Arsenal at the Age of 17
Saka didn’t spend long in the youth teams and quickly progressed to becoming a senior team player making his debut for Arsenal at the age of 17 years and 118 days as a substitute against Fulham on New Year’s Day in 2019. For the Arsenal U18 squad, Saka played 28 times bagging 16 goals and getting seven assists and for the U21 squad, he played 25 times scoring six times with 10 assists. This was enough for him to earn a shot at Arsenal’s first team and eventually he become a regular player for the squad.
Positions Played
At the time of writing, Saka has played in seven different positions for Arsenal, including left-back, left midfield, right midfield, central midfield, left-wing, centre-forward and right-wing where he has cemented his position at the club.
Games Played & Goals Scored for Arsenal
Since making his debut for the Gunners, based on the stats at the time of writing, Saka has played 165 games, scoring 34 goals and creating 38 and that is why he is regarded as one of Arsenal and England’s most exciting players at just 21 years old. We fully expect him to build on this excellent start and – if he avoids any serious injuries – he could well become an Arsenal legend within a few years.
Saka’s Headliner Moments with Arsenal
Saka has already had many outstanding performances for the Gunners during his short time in the senior squad. One of these performances came against Chelsea in their 3-1 victory in December of the 2020-21 season when Saka produced two assists and was very influential during the game with his tricky dribbling and blistering pace. What made this performance even more special was the fact that he was just 19 years old and was able to show that he had the attitude and ability to compete in the Premier League against other top sides. This performance started to get fans excited about him and they realised he was the real deal in terms of building on the potential he’d already shown at youth level.
Another huge performance Saka was able to put in for the club was in the Europa League against Benfica in 2021 when he was crucial in their 3-2 victory. What made this particularly impressive was how he had to play out of position as a left-back due to injuries to Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolašinac (who were the usual players to occupy this position). Saka was able to defend well and showed his prowess when he scored a goal in the first half and contributed to Arsenal moving through to the Round of 16. This was able to show the club and fans he was willing to play in any position for the club and also that he had the ability to do so.
Saka’s Premier League Performance
At the time of writing, Saka has played 123 games in the Premier League and has appeared to get better and better as time goes on. In the 2018/19 season, Saka had his first and only Premier League appearance of the campaign when he played seven minutes in a 4-1 victory against Fulham, though he didn’t score or make any assists. His first proper season came in 2019/20 when he played 26 games, scoring one goal and assisting five, which isn’t bad considering how young he was at the time.
Saka was able to improve in the 2020/21 season in which he achieved five goals and four assists in 32 Premier League games and really started to get support from fans who were excited to see what he had to show in the future. Saka made a big development in the next season scoring over double the number of goals with 11 and managing seven assists in 38 league appearances. In the 2022/23 season (up to early March 2023), Saka has impressed so far with 10 goals and nine assists in 26 appearances in the Premier League.
Domestic Cups: FA, EFL & the Community Shield
These impressive stats don’t just limit themselves to the Premier League either as in domestic cups Saka has played 19 games throughout the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and the Community Shield scoring two goals and providing four assists. The two trophies Saka has won with the club have both come from domestic competitions with a Community Shield win in 2020/21 and an FA Cup in 2019/20.
Europa League
Saka has also played in the Europa League for Arsenal and impressed by racking up five goals and nine assists in 23 appearances in the competition. Although Arsenal are yet to win the Premier League or a European competition it definitely seems to be on the cards in the coming years, especially if Saka keeps improving!
Saka’s England Career So Far
So far, Saka has had a very short yet very exciting England career in which he has played in both the Euro 2020 competition and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. In both competitions, Saka was a very exciting player for England, especially in the World Cup where he started most of the games and scored three goals while helping England to the quarter-finals where they were knocked out by France.
Saka had a smaller role in the Euro 2020 competition where England managed to make it to the final against Italy but unfortunately lost on penalties. However, it is obvious Saka will be a very instrumental player for England in the future and England fans will be hoping he can assist them with lifting a trophy before too long.