Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Saka (born 5 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who mainly plays as a winger or left back for Premier League club Arsenal.

Bukayo Saka
Personal information
Full name Bukayo Saka[1]
Date of birth (2001-09-05) 5 September 2001[2]
Place of birth Ealing, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Winger / Left back
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 7
Youth career
0000–2018 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Arsenal 27 (1)
National team‡
2017 England U16 2 (1)
2017–2018 England U17 9 (0)
2018– England U18 5 (1)
2018– England U19 10 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:52, 21 July 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 12:45, 17 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Saka was born in Ealing, Greater London, and attended Edward Betham CofE Primary School.[3] before Greenford High School.[4] He started his career with Arsenal's Hale End academy.[5] Once he turned 17 years old, Saka was given a professional contract by Arsenal and promoted to the under-23 side.[5]

On 29 November 2018, Saka made his senior competitive debut for Arsenal in their Europa League match against Vorskla Poltava. He came on as a 68th minute substitute for Aaron Ramsey.[6] On 13 December 2018, Saka made his first full home debut for Arsenal in their Europa League match against FK Qarabag. On 1 January 2019, Saka made his debut in the Premier League in a 4–1 win against Fulham after coming on for Alex Iwobi in the 83rd minute.[7] Saka scored his first senior goal on the 19th of September 2019, curling a fine effort from long range into the corner away to German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League. He finished the match with two assists also to his name in a 3-0 win.[8] Saka was rewarded for his efforts in Germany with his first Premier League start, in a 3–2 home win over Aston Villa. He then registered an assist for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, setting up the Gunners equalizer in a 1–1 draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United.

Following injuries to Sead Kolašinac and Kieran Tierney, Saka began to establish himself as a regular in the Arsenal first team at left back. On 27 January 2020, he scored the opening goal in Arsenal's 2–1 FA Cup fourth round victory at Bournemouth after finishing a 22-pass move, as well as assisting the second goal, scored by Eddie Nketiah. The goal was later voted goal of the round by the BBC.[9] After a two-week mid-season break, Saka marked his return to action at home to Newcastle United with an assist for Nicolas Pepe's goal.[10] He then set up Alexandre Lacazette for his ninth assist of the season in a 1–0 win at Olympiacos in the UEFA Europa League.[11] He then hit double figures for assists that season after crossing in for Nketiah in a thrilling 3–2 home win against Everton.[12] Further performances against Portsmouth and West Ham United further strengthened his grip in the first team.

On 1 July 2020, Saka signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.[13] Head coach Mikel Arteta praised Saka and said: "I think he represents every value that this football club stands for. He has come through the academy, and earned his respect with hard work and accountability and you can see the progression that he is having as a player but as well as a person."[14] He scored his first Premier League goal for the club against Wolverhampton Wanderers, with a half volley beating goalkeeper Rui Patrício, in a 2–0 win.[15]

International career

Born in England, Saka is of Nigerian descent.[16] Saka has represented England at under-16, under-17,[17] under-18[18] and under-19 level.[19]

In May 2018, Saka was included in the England under-17 squad as they hosted the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[20] The hosts were eliminated by the Netherlands at the semi-final stage on a penalty shootout although Saka scored his spot kick.[21]

In September 2018, Saka scored the winner for the England under-18 team in an away game against France.[18] In November 2018, Saka received his first call-up to the England under-19 team.[22] He scored on his debut at that age level in a qualifier against Moldova.[23]

Career statistics
As of match played 21 July 2020
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Arsenal U21 2018–19[24] ———4[lower-alpha 1]141
Arsenal 2018–19[25] Premier League1010002[lower-alpha 2]040
2019–20[26] Premier League26141206[lower-alpha 2]2384
Total 271512082424
Career total 2715120123465
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Arsenal

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References
  1. "2019/20 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  2. "Bukayo Saka: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. "Issue 33 - 17th June 2019.pdf" (PDF).
  4. Watts, Charles; Clementine, Katherine (13 December 2018). "Arsenal FC's Bukayo Saka: The young Ealing-born player making his senior debut". MyLondon. Reach. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  5. Wheatley, Chris (20 November 2018). "Meet Bukayo Saka: The latest Arsenal academy star making a name for himself". Goal.com. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  6. "Vorskla vs Arsenal". Soccerway.
  7. "Arsenal news: Emery excited by Saka's Arsenal debut". Goal.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  8. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49745913
  9. "FA Cup: Arsenal's Bukayo Saka strike voted goal of the fourth round". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  10. "Arsenal 4–0 Newcastle: Gunners beat Magpies to end run of draws". 16 February 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
  11. "Olympiakos 0–1 Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette helped by team-mates' support, says Mikel Arteta". 21 February 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
  12. "Arsenal 3–2 Everton: Aubameyang nets twice as Arsenal beat Everton in thriller". 23 February 2020 – via www.bbc.com.
  13. "Bukayo Saka signs new long-term contract". arsenal.com. 1 July 2020.
  14. "'He represents every value this club stands for'". arsenal.com. 1 July 2020.
  15. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52177948
  16. Abayomi, Tosin. "Bukayo Saka and Arthur Okonkwo get professional contracts at Arsenal". Pulse.ng.
  17. "Bukayo Saka at UEFA U17". UEFA. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  18. "England U18s beat hosts France to seal Limoges title with three wins from three games". The Football Association. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  19. "Bukayo Saka at UEFA U19". UEFA. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  20. "England U17s squad revealed for U17 Euro finals on home turf". The Football Association. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. "England 0–0 Netherlands". UEFA. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  22. "England U19s squad named as they begin their Euro campaign with qualifiers in Turkey". The Football Association. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  23. "Bukayo Saka scores on England Under-19 debut". Arsenal F.C. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  24. "B. Saka: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  25. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  26. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  27. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  28. Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
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