Football

Bukayo Saka praises Arsenal's development on and off the pitch and its role in the 'hype around London'

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1m ago

Oct 09, 2024 / 2168 Views

Evan Walker

Given how long he has been the face of the franchise at Arsenal, it is sometimes hard to believe that Bukayo Saka only celebrated his 23rd birthday last month. Since establishing himself in Mikel Arteta's first team in 2020, Saka has shouldered an enormous footballing burden with ease, establishing his club as one of the best in Europe and himself as one of the best in the game.

Naturally, such stars shine beyond the field. Saka is the face of numerous campaigns, including the Gunners' latest with London streetwear brand Aries. He seems as at ease modelling new fits in ever more baffling adverts -- Arsenal chants repurposed as hymns in a north London church were "quite catchy, pretty cool" -- and relishes his place at an intersection of art, music and design, as big a name at London Fashion Week as he is at the Emirates Stadium. More than just north London's star boy, Saka has become one of the faces of young London.

"I can see my club evolving not just on the pitch but off the pitch as well," he says. "It's nice to see the different things they're doing. A lot of it is very cool. I think a lot of the hype around London, part of it is due to Arsenal."

He is unfazed. As he puts it, the dream was always to make it in the sport, to play for Arsenal. Everything else is just a bonus. And anyway, the Football is delivering more than enough of those.

At 23 years of age, Saka is already following in the footsteps of Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, and Thierry Henry, he is the one leading Arsenal out in some of their biggest matches. With Martin Odegaard injured, it was Saka who was entrusted to wear the armband at the Etihad Stadium for a battling 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Following that were even greater thrills, leading his team mates out in front of a sold out Emirates on a Champions League night against Paris Saint-Germain. Much of Saka's career so far was spent fighting to get Arsenal back to Europe's top comPetition. Captaining his team mates to a statement win with the world's eyes on them, it doesn't get much more special than that.

"That's one of the things where I become speechless when people ask me," Saka tells CBS Sports as he reflects on his captaincy in an exclusive interview. "Everyone knows my journey, where I came from. To take the captain's armband, walk the lads out at the Emirates Stadium."

He takes a lengthy pause, unable to quell the most jubilant of smiles.

"I can't put it into words."

That delight is of course shared by Arsenal supporters for whom he has been the guiding light through trying times to this period of thrilling contention. The love for Saka, however, spreads far beyond the Holloway Road. That much was evident this summer at Euro 2024 but also across the United Kingdom. Anyone who spent more than 15 minutes at a music festival last summer would have seen that familiar No.7 somewhere in the crowd. Four years after taking the historic squad number of Robert Pires, Liam Brady and David Rocastle, Saka still gets a rush.

"When the new kits come out you see it across all of London. I'm always looking out to see if someone has my number on. It's always a nice feeling when you see a little kid or an older man wearing one of my shirts," I'm not sure how kindly I, a 34-year-old man, take to that last line seemingly being aimed at me, but anyway. "I never take it for granted and if I can give them a bit of my time, a bit of love back to them, I'll try to do that too."

The Saka-Havertz connection

As for that number seven, that is already his top flight assist tally for the season so far (whisper it, but the Premier League record of 20 in a single campaign looks within reach). Three of those have been delivered to Kai Havertz, the German forward whose supreme form in 2024 has seen him deliver 15 goals and seven assists, a combined scoring contribution bettered only by Saka himself.

"I've always thought Kai's an unbelievable player," says Saka. "Everyone in the dressing room did too. We're so happy that he's showing that. This season he has come out with even more confidence, I think he's scored in almost every Game.

"He's going to score a lot of goals this season. He has a really good understanding around the box, when to attack it, and that's why he gets a lot of chances and that's why hopefully he'll score a lot of goals."

Havertz is not the only recent addition to the Arsenal cause to be excelling. When Saka jokes that he doesn't go near the Gunners full backs in training, it is easy to imagine why. Riccardo Calafiori has thrown himself into life at his new club with abandon while Jurrien Timber, signed a year earlier but robbed of nearly a year of football with an ACL injury, looks intent to make up for lost time. Indeed the Dutch international particularly excelled in the win over PSG, a robust first half display seeing him dovetail well with Saka and dominate his duels.

"He gave me a lot of confidence that when he's one vs. one with an attacker he's going to win the ball back and give it to me," Saka explains. "On the ball he's so composed, so calm and confident. He's a top player, I'm happy he's showing it. It must have been hard for him, knowing that he had that much ability but was on the sidelines for a year. He always kept his head, stayed humble and worked so hard. I'm happy that now he's getting the praises he deserves."

It speaks volumes of the special kind of superstar Saka is that he never seems happier than when asked to sing the praise of others. No wonder he has become the face of this new Arsenal.