Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Ayoyinka T. M. Saka[4] (born 5 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger, left-back or midfielder for Premier League club Arsenal and the England national team.

Bukayo Saka
Personal information
Date of birth (2001-09-05) 5 September 2001[1]
Place of birth Ealing, England
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger, left-back, midfielder[3]
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 7
Youth career
Greenford Celtic
Watford
0000–2018 Arsenal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Arsenal 60 (6)
National team‡
2017 England U16 2 (1)
2017–2018 England U17 9 (0)
2018–2019 England U18 5 (1)
2018– England U19 10 (4)
2020– England U21 1 (0)
2020– England 9 (1)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  England
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up2020
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:26, 13 August 2021 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:36, 11 July 2021 (UTC)

Early life

Saka was born in Ealing, Greater London to Nigerian parents,[5] and went to the Edward Betham Church of England Primary School[6] before Greenford High School,[7] where he gained high grades in his GCSEs.[8] Prior to joining Arsenal, Saka played youth football for local club Greenford Celtic.[9] His parents moved to London from Nigeria as migrants.[10]

His name "Bukayo" comes from the Yoruba language spoken in southern Nigeria, meaning "adds to happiness".[11]

Club career

Saka had played for the youth teams of Watford.[12] He joined Arsenal's Hale End academy[13] at the age of seven.[14] Once he turned 17 years old, Saka was given a contract by Arsenal and moved up to the under-23 side.[13]

On 29 November 2018, Saka made his first senior appearance for Arsenal in their Europa League match against Vorskla Poltava.[15]

2019–20: Breakthrough and FA Cup win

Saka scored his first senior goal on 19 September, against German side Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Europa League. He also finished the match with two assists in a 3–0 win.[16] Saka was rewarded for his efforts in Germany with his first Premier League start, in a 3–2 home win over Aston Villa.

On 1 July 2020, Saka signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.[17]

2020–21: Arsenal Player of the Season

On 15 April, Saka scored a goal and helped Arsenal to a 4–0 victory over Slavia Prague in the quarter final of the Europa League. Because of this, he was named as the Europa League Player of the Week.[18][19]

International career

Saka represented England at under-16, under-17,[20] under-18,[21] under-19 and under-21 level.[22]

On 1 October, Saka was called up to the England senior squad for the first time,[23] and made his international debut as one of the starters in a 3–0 victory over Wales.[24]

On 1 June 2021, he was named in the 26-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. On 2 June 2021, in a friendly against Austria, Saka scored his first senior international goal, the only goal in a 1–0 win.[25] He started in England's third Euro 2020 group stage match on 22 June 2021 against the Czech Republic, and was named the man of the match.[26] On 11 July 2021, in the tournament final against Italy, Saka was brought on as a substitute for Kieran Trippier. Following full time and extra time, Saka was chosen to take the team's fifth penalty during the following shoot-out, his first penalty kick at senior level.[27] Saka's shot was saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and, as a result, Italy won the shoot-out and the tournament.[28] Saka faced racist abuse online after missing the penalty.[29][30]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 August 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
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[31] — — — — — 4[lower-alpha 1] 1 4 1
Arsenal 2018–19[32] Premier League 1 0 1 0 0 0 2[lower-alpha 2] 0 — 4 0
2019–20[33] Premier League 26 1 4 1 2 0 6[lower-alpha 2] 2 — 38 4
2020–21[34] Premier League 32 5 2 0 2 0 9[lower-alpha 2] 2 1[lower-alpha 3] 0 46 7
2021–22[35] Premier League 1 0 0 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Total 60 6 7 1 4 0 17 4 1 0 89 11
Career total 60 6 7 1 4 0 17 4 5 1 93 12
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International
As of match played 11 July 2021[36]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
England 2020 4 0
2021 5 1
Total 9 1
As of match played 11 July 2021. England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Saka goal.[36]
List of international goals scored by Bukayo Saka
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 2 June 2021 Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, England 5  Austria 1–0 1–0 Friendly [37]

Honours

Arsenal

England

Individual

  • Arsenal Player of the Season: 2020–21[42]

References
  1. "Bukayo Saka: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  2. "Bukayo Saka: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. Dowdeswell, Andrew (9 July 2020). "Arsenal: Where is Bukayo Saka's best position?". Pain in the Arsenal. Fansided. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  4. "Bukayo Saka". England Football Online. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  5. Oludare, Shina (8 July 2020). "Saka: Ikpeba wants Arsenal star invited to Super Eagles". Goal.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  6. "Issue 33 – 17th June 2019.pdf" (PDF).
  7. 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.
  8. Ellery, Ben. "England star Bukayo Saka was a real role model, says PE teacher". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  9. "'I'm crying writing this': Final good luck messages for England's stars - by those who know them best". The Telegraph. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  10. "10 things you may not know about Bukayo Saka – Arsenal's new number 7". GiveMeSport. 2020-07-24. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  11. Hendrix, Hale (2019-10-05). "Bukayo Saka Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts". LifeBogger. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  12. Berrill, Lewis (9 July 2021). "Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho's time at Watford FC". Watford Observer. Retrieved 18 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. Wheatley, Chris (20 November 2018). "Meet Bukayo Saka: The latest Arsenal academy star making a name for himself". Goal.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  14. "Why Saka could be a future Arsenal captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  15. "Vorskla vs Arsenal". Soccerway.
  16. "Arsenal beat Eintracht in opener" – via www.bbc.com.
  17. "Bukayo Saka signs new long-term contract". Arsenal F.C. 1 July 2020.
  18. Dean, Sam; Zeqiri, Daniel (2021-04-15). "Impressive Arsenal tear Slavia Prague apart to set up Unai Emery reunion". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  19. "Saka bags Europa League award after Slavia Prague display". Yardbarker. 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  20. "Bukayo Saka at UEFA U17". UEFA. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. "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.
  22. "Bukayo Saka at UEFA U19". UEFA. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  23. "England squad: Dominic Calvert-Lewin called up but Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden left out". BBC Sport. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  24. McNulty, Phil (8 October 2020). "England 3–0 Wales". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  25. McNulty, Phil (2 June 2021). "England 1-0 Austria: Bukayo Saka seals win with first international goal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  26. "Euro 2020 - 'More to come from us' - Gareth Southgate praises England and 'fabulous' Bukayo Saka". Eurosport. 22 June 2021.
  27. Wallace, Sam (2021-07-12). "Bukayo Saka is a teenager who had never taken a penalty - so why was he asked to do it now?". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  28. "England lose shootout in Euro 2020 final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  29. "England 'disgusted' by racism aimed at players". ESPN.com. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  30. "PM & FA condemn racist abuse of players". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  31. "B. Saka: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  32. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  33. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
  34. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  35. "Games played by Bukayo Saka in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  36. Saka, Bukayo at National-Football-Teams.com
  37. "England vs. Austria 1–0: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  38. McNulty, Phil (1 August 2020). "Arsenal 2–1 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  39. Sanders, Emma (29 August 2020). "Arsenal 1–1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  40. Bevan, Chris (29 May 2019). "Chelsea 4–1 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  41. McNulty, Phil (11 July 2021). "England lose shootout in Euro 2020 final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  42. "Arsenal Player of the Season: In first place..." Arsenal F.C. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

Other websites
  • Profile at the Arsenal F.C. website
  • Profile at the Football Association website
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