Bukayo Saka has been a model of consistency for the Gunners and at such a young age of 21, he is closing in on 200 appearances for the club. Since his breakthrough campaign in the 2019/20 season, Saka has featured across several positions before making the right wing his own, ousting the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Willian, who aren’t at the club this season. While the shaggy-haired winger moved to Fulham after a stint back home in Corinthians, Pepe was shipped back to France to play for OGC Nice, but he has failed to command a first team berth in the French outfit, which essentially means that he will be back in the club this summer, and with a year left on his contract, Arsenal will have to make a decision on his future.

This season, Saka has scored 13 Premier League goals and created 12 assists for his teammates, making it his personal best in terms of his attacking output to the team. He is the current Player of the Season for Arsenal, an award he won two years in a row. Saka has been on an upward trajectory, playing consistent football and getting better with each passing campaign. As the young lad aged, he improved in maturity and most importantly, his growing influence within the team. 

To show commitment to a player that has risen to talismanic status at the club, Arsenal has offered Saka new contract worth £290,000 a week, making him the highest earner at the club. Skeptics will want to look back at the huge deals offered to Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, in which Arsenal didn’t get any tangible return from the experienced heads afterwards, but in Saka, Arsenal has a player that is actually committed to improving himself, 

“For me, it’s about achieving my personal ambitions; how much I push myself and demand from myself each game, week in, week out. Then I have all the right people around me in terms of family, and when I come to the training ground, my teammates, the coaching staff.

I think I have everything I need to become the best player I can be, and that’s why I’m happy to stay here and be here for the future, because I really believe that we can achieve big things.”

These words from Saka are heartwarming, as he’s making it clear that his focus in on getting better in the right environment, which is Arsenal. Saka has been given ample opportunities to keep improving, with Mikel Arteta placing absolute trust in him. He featured in all 38 Premier League games last season, and he has played 37 games this season, and if he starts against Wolves on Sunday, he will be the second ever outfield player to feature in all Premier League games for Arsenal in back-to-back seasons after Lee Dixon. 

Saka is a very influential player for Arsenal and England, and at 21, his best years are way ahead of him. He played a massive role in Arsenal’s title push this season, and alongside Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale, he has shown commitment to the cause extending his stay in the club for four more years. Saka’s consistency and availability have been a huge plus for the team, but with Champions League football coming into the question, Arteta will need to manage his minutes by signing a winger that can alternate with him. Yes, he have Nicolas Pepe returning but I believe he has fallen out of favor with Arteta, but I’m hopeful we can use Moussa Diaby as a makeweight for the Granit Xhaka deal to Leverkusen.

Mikel Arteta is absolutely delighted with Saka extending his deal,

Retaining our best young talents is key to our continued progress and Bukayo represents such an important part of our squad now and for the future.

As well as being a fantastic talent, Bukayo is a special person, he’s loved by us all and he is a credit to himself and his family for the hard work and commitment they have all made to get to this level today.

We are happy Saka has extended his stay with the club and we can only hope he continues to churn our exemplary performances next season.

Sayonara.

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For the second campaign in a row, Arsenal’s emerging talisman, Bukayo Saka, has won the Player of the Season award. This year, he edged past Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale, garnering 58% of the votes from the Arsenal faithful.

Since breaking into the first team setup in the 2019-20 season, Saka has been on an upward trajectory, playing consistent football and getting better with each passing campaign. As the young lad aged, he improved in maturity and most importantly, his growing influence within the team. 

From the table above, Saka’s goal contributions have continued to improve and significantly, his goals came in the Premier League, as Arsenal were unfortunate not to feature in Europe last season. It is more impressive when you think about how Saka began the campaign with a penalty miss that ended his country’s European Championship hopes. He was on the end of some vitriol and abuse from some football fans but he focused on his football with Arsenal and made himself indispensable to the side, keeping out the club’s record signing permanently out of the team.

I am proud of what Saka has achieved thus far in his fledging Arsenal career and with his age, there is so much more to come from him. With Alex Lacazette leaving this summer, penalties will be added to his repertoire, which would allow him score more vital goals like the spot kick he took against Chelsea in last season’s surge for a Champions League finish. 

Arsenal will also need to show some level of commitment to Saka, by offering him a new deal to reflect his increased ability in the team, and with the forward having just two years left in his contract, as well as interest from other clubs, we wouldn’t want another saga in our hands, so its in everyone’s interest to tie him down to his best years with us.

The new season is around the corner and Arsenal would be looking to improve the squad, but its heartwarming to know that we have players like Saka that are more than capable of providing positive impact in every game he plays. 

Here’s to Bukayo Saka – our Player of the Season

Sayonara

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