Bukayo Ayoyinka T. M. Saka [ 4 ] ( give birth 5 September 2001 ) is an english professional football player who plays as a winger, left-back or midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the England national team.
Reading: Bukayo Saka – Wikipedia
early biography
Saka was born in Ealing, Greater London to nigerian parents, [ 5 ] and attended Edward Betham Church of England Primary School [ 6 ] before Greenford High School, [ 7 ] where he gained high grades in his GCSEs, achieving four A*s and three As. [ 8 ] Prior to joining Arsenal, Saka played youth football for local clubhouse Greenford Celtic. [ 9 ] His parents emigrated to London from Nigeria as economic migrants. [ 10 ] In an interview, Saka stated the importance of his father in his footballing career : “ He ‘s a massive inhalation for me. From when I was young, he always kept me grounded, kept me humble. ” [ 11 ] His name “ Bukayo ” originates from the Yoruba speech spoken in southerly Nigeria, meaning “ adds to happiness ”. [ 12 ]
Club career
Having previously played for youth teams of Watford, [ 13 ] Saka joined Arsenal ‘s Hale End academy [ 14 ] at the senesce of seven. [ 15 ] once he turned 17 years honest-to-god, Saka was given a professional compress by Arsenal and promoted to the under-23 side. [ 14 ] On 29 November 2018, Saka made his senior competitive debut for Arsenal in their Europa League equal against Vorskla Poltava. He came on as a 68th moment substitute for Aaron Ramsey. [ 16 ] On 13 December 2018, Saka made his beginning wide home plate introduction for Arsenal in their Europa League match against Qarabağ. [ 17 ] On 1 January 2019, Saka made his debut in the Premier League in a 4–1 acquire against Fulham after coming on for Alex Iwobi in the 83rd minute. [ 18 ] He became the first player born in the twenty-first hundred to play in a Premier League catch. [ 19 ]
2019–20 : breakthrough and FA Cup winnings
Saka scored his foremost senior finish on 19 September, curling a fine campaign from long crop into the corner aside to german english Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League. He finished the match with two assists besides to his name in a 3–0 succeed. [ 20 ] 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 Arsenal ‘s counterweight in a 1–1 puff at Old Trafford against Manchester United. [ 21 ] 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 first step goal in Arsenal ‘s 2–1 FA Cup fourth turn victory at Bournemouth after finishing a 22-pass move, american samoa well as assisting the second finish, scored by Eddie Nketiah. The goal was former vote goal of the round by the BBC. [ 22 ] After a two-week mid-season dampen, Saka marked his fall to action at home to Newcastle United with an assist for Nicolas Pépé ‘s goal. [ 23 ] 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. [ 24 ] He then hit doubly figures for assists that season after crossing in for Nketiah in a thrilling 3–2 dwelling gain against Everton. [ 25 ] Additional hard performances against Portsmouth and West Ham United far strengthened his clasp in the beginning team. [ citation needed ] On 1 July 2020, Saka signed a modern long-run contract with Arsenal. [ 26 ] Head coach Mikel Arteta praised Saka and said : “ I think he represents every value that this football cabaret stands for. He has come through the academy, and earned his regard with unvoiced work and accountability and you can see the progress that he is having as a musician but a well as a person. ” [ 27 ] He scored his first Premier League goal for the baseball club against Wolverhampton Wanderers, with a half volley beating goalkeeper Rui Patrício, in a 2–0 gain. [ 28 ] He was an fresh stand-in as Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2–1 to win their 14th FA Cup. [ 29 ] He came third gear in the vote for the Arsenal Player of the Season prize in the 2019–20 season. [ 30 ]
2020–21 : Arsenal Player of the Season
On 29 August 2020, Saka was in the starting 11 and registered an serve in the 2020 FA Community Shield, which Arsenal clinched a 5–4 victory over Liverpool in the punishment shoot-out after the match was 1–1 after 90 minutes. [ 31 ] On 26 December 2020, he scored his third gear Premier League goal on his fortieth appearance in a 3–1 winnings over Chelsea. [ 32 ] due to his stellar operation in December 2020, he was late voted as the Player of the Month on the Arsenal official web site. [ 33 ] He was voted as the Player of the Month again in January, having scored three goals and provided one assist in six appearances across all competitions, in which his finish against West Brom was voted as the runner-up of Arsenal ‘s Goal of the Month. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] Saka was named Player of the Month for the third time in February after contributing one goal and two assists, claiming 48 percentage of the votes. [ 36 ] On 6 March 2021, Saka made his fiftieth Premier League appearance for Arsenal in a 1–1 draw against Burnley ; he is the moment youngest player in cabaret history to reach that milestone. [ 37 ] On 15 April, Saka scored a goal and helped Arsenal to a 4–0 victory over Slavia Prague in the quarter final examination of the Europa League. After his fine performance, he was named as the Europa League Player of the Week. [ 38 ] [ 39 ] He finished the season with seven goals and seven assists in 46 appearances across all competitions, as he was voted Arsenal Player of the Season, [ 40 ] having come in third the former campaign. He besides was named in the shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Season. [ 41 ]
2021–22
Saka scored his first goal of the new political campaign in a 6–0 EFL Cup moment orotund win aside to West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in deep August. [ 42 ] He scored his first Premier League goal of the season in September against Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium, whilst besides providing an serve in a 3–1 succeed. [ 43 ] On 30 October against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, Saka made his hundredth appearance for Arsenal, marking the affair with an serve in a 2–0 gain. [ 44 ] On Boxing Day 2021, Saka scored his first aged brace as Arsenal pulse bottom club Norwich 5-0 at Carrow Road. In doing indeed, Saka became the second-youngest player to reach 10 Premier League goals for Arsenal, after Nicolas Anelka. [ 45 ]
International career
Saka represented England at under-16, under-17, [ 46 ] under-18, [ 47 ] under-19 and under-21 charge. [ 48 ]
Read more: FIFA 21 Pro Clubs
In May 2018, he was included in the England under-17 squad as they hosted the 2018 UEFA european Under-17 Championship. [ 49 ] The hosts were eliminated by the Netherlands at the semi-final phase on a penalty shoot-out, although Saka scored his spot bang. [ 50 ] In September 2018, Saka scored the winner for the England under-18 team in an away crippled against France. [ 47 ] In November 2018, Saka received his beginning call-up to the England under-19 team. [ 51 ] He scored on his debut at that historic period level in a qualifier against Moldova. [ 52 ] On 4 September 2020, Saka made his debut for England U21s during a 6–0 victory off to Kosovo. [ 53 ] On 1 October, Saka was called up to the England senior police squad for the first gear time, [ 54 ] and made his external debut as one of the starters in a 3–0 victory over Wales. [ 55 ] Having played four times for England, Saka is now tied to England internationally and can no longer represent Nigeria. [ 56 ] On 1 June 2021, he was named in the 26-man team for UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 June, in a friendly against Austria, Saka scored his first base aged international finish, the alone goal in a 1–0 win. [ 57 ] He started in England ‘s third Euro 2020 group phase match on 22 June against the Czech Republic, and was named the valet of the match. [ 58 ] On 11 July, in the tournament final against Italy, Saka was brought on as a ersatz for Kieran Trippier. Following full time and extra meter, Saka was chosen to take the team ‘s fifth penalty during the subsequent shoot-out, his first penalty kick at aged flush. [ 59 ] Saka ‘s attempt was saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and, as a result, Italy won the shoot-out and the tournament. [ 60 ] Saka faced racist abuse on-line after missing the penalty. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] On 15 July, Saka said in an Instagram mail that he “ knew immediately the kind of hate ” he was going to receive after his penalty was saved, adding : “ … and that is a deplorable reality that your potent platforms are not doing adequate to stop these messages. ” [ 63 ]
personal life
Asked what he would be if not a football player, Saka said he would be a basketball player or an actor. His favored actor growing up was Will Smith and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is his favored express. His favorite football player of all-time is Thierry Henry and he cites Alexis Sanchez as an influence, saying he even tried to copy Sanchez ‘s boots when he was an academy player. Among past teammates, Saka said David Luiz helped him the most in his career, saying “ he [ Luiz ] went out of his way ” to help a fortune of Arsenal youngsters “ on and off the peddle. ” [ 64 ]
career statistics
club
- As of match played 26 December 2021
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal U21 | 2018–19[65] | — | — | — | — | — | 4[a] | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Arsenal | 2018–19[66] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2019–20[67] | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6[b] | 2 | — | 38 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21[68] | Premier League | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9[b] | 2 | 1[c] | 0 | 46 | 7 | |
| 2021–22[69] | Premier League | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 21 | 6 | |||
| Total | 78 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 109 | 17 | ||
| Career total | 78 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 113 | 18 | ||
International
- As of match played 15 November 2021[70]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2020 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 | 4 | |
| Total | 14 | 4 | |
- As of match played 15 November 2021
- England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Saka goal[70]
Honours
Arsenal
England
Individual
References
- Profile at the Arsenal F.C. website
- Profile at the Football Association website
- Profile at the Premier League website
- Bukayo Saka – UEFA competition record (archive)
Read more: 2015–16 Liverpool F.C. season – Wikipedia