Bukayo Saka

Bukayo Ayoyinka T. M. Saka (born 5 September 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger,  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 joy".

 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

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueFA CupEFL CupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsArsenal U212018–19—————4141Arsenal2018–19Premier League10100020—402019–20Premier League261412062—3842020–21Premier League325202092104672021–22Premier League38111041——43122022–23Premier League3814200081—48152023–24Premier League9400003110135Total14435101812862019243Career total14435101812866119644

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsEngland20204020211042022103202364Total3011

England score listed first, score column indicates score after each Saka goal

+ List of international goals scored by Bukayo SakaNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition12 June 2021Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, England51–01–0Friendly25 September 2021Wembley Stadium, London, England114–04–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification39 October 2021Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra122–05–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification415 November 2021Stadio Olimpico di San Marino, Serravalle, San Marino1410–010–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification521 November 2022Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar212–06–22022 FIFA World Cup64–074 December 2022Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar233–03–02022 FIFA World Cup826 March 2023Wembley Stadium, London, England262–02–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying926 March 2023Old Trafford, Manchester, England282–07–0UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying104–0115–0

Honours
Arsenal
FA Cup: 2019–20
FA Community Shield: 2020, 2023
UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2018–19

England

UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2020

UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2024

Individual
England Men's Player of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
Premier League Player of the Month: March 2023
PFA Team of the Year: 2022–23 Premier League
PFA Young Player of the Year: 2022–23
Arsenal Player of the Season: 2020–21, 2021–22
IFFHS Men's Youth (U20) World Team: 2021
London Football Awards Men's Young Player of the Year: 2023

 References 

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

Category:2001 births
Category:Living people
Category:Footballers from London
Category:Arsenal F.C. players
Category:Premier League players
Category:Association football defenders
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:Black British sportspeople
Category:Ghanaian footballers
Category:People from Ealing
Category:2022 FIFA World Cup players
Category:UEFA Euro 2024 players