Bukayo Saka

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

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

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

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

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

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. 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.

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.

International career 
Saka represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 level.

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

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.  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. 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. Saka's shot was saved by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and, as a result, Italy won the shoot-out and the tournament. Saka faced racist abuse online after missing the penalty.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours 
Arsenal
 FA Cup: 2019–20
 FA Community Shield: 2020
 UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2018–19

England
 UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020

Individual
 Arsenal Player of the Season: 2020–21

References

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

2001 births
Living people
English footballers
Arsenal F.C. players
Premier League players
Association football defenders
Association football midfielders
Black British sportspeople
Ghanaian footballers
People from Ealing
Sportspeople from London