Given how long he has been the face of the Arsenal franchise, 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 easily shouldered a huge footballing load, helping his club become one of the best in Europe and himself one of the best in football.
Such stars obviously shine off the field. Saka is the face of numerous campaigns, including the Gunners’ latest with London streetwear brand Aries. He seems equally comfortable modeling new shapes in increasingly baffling advertisements – Arsenal chants used as hymns in a north London church were ‘pretty catchy, pretty cool’ – and is enjoying his place at the intersection of art, music and design, while being a big name at London Fashion Week as he is at the Emirates Stadium. Saka is not only the star boy of North London, but has also become one of the faces of young London.
Arsenal/Aries
“I see my club evolving not only on the pitch, but also off it,” he says. “It’s fun to see the different things they do. A lot of it is really cool. I think a lot of the hype around London, some of it, is down 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, football provides more than enough of that.
At the age of 23, Saka is already following in the footsteps of Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. He is the one who leads Arsenal in some of their biggest games. With Martin Odegaard injured, it was Saka who had to wear the armband at the Etihad Stadium for a 2-2 draw against Manchester City. Then came even greater excitement as he led his teammates in front of a sold-out Emirates on a Champions League night against Paris Saint-Germain. Much of Saka’s career to date has been spent fighting to return Arsenal to Europe’s top competition. Leading his teammates to a statement victory with the eyes of the world on them doesn’t get much more special than that.
“That’s one of the things that leaves me speechless when people ask me about it,” Saka told CBS Sports as he reflected on his captaincy in an exclusive interview. “Everyone knows my journey, where I come from. To take on the captaincy, walk with the boys to the Emirates Stadium.”
He pauses for a long time, unable to suppress the most jubilant smile.
“I can’t put it into words.”
That joy is of course shared by the Arsenal supporters for whom he has been the guiding light through difficult times in this period of exciting competition. However, love for Saka spreads far beyond Holloway Road. That much was clear this summer at the 2024 European Championships, but also across the United Kingdom. Anyone who spent more than fifteen minutes at a music festival last summer would have seen that familiar number 7 somewhere in the crowd. Four years after earning the historic jersey number of Robert Pires, Liam Brady and David Rocastle, Saka is still in a hurry.
“When the new kits come out you see it all over London. I always look to see if anyone has my number. 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 kind I, a 34 year old man, am to that last sentence apparently directed at me, but anyway “I never take it for granted and if I can give them back a little of my time and a little love, I’ll try that too.”
The Saka-Havertz connection
As for that number seven, that’s already his highest number of assists for the season so far (whisper it, but the Premier League record of 20 in a single season seems within reach). Three of these have come to Kai Havertz, the German striker whose excellent form in 2024 saw him score 15 goals and seven assists, a combined scoring contribution surpassed only by Saka himself.
“I always thought Kai was an incredible player,” Saka said. “Everyone in the dressing room did that too. We are so happy that he is showing that. This season he has come out with even more confidence, I think he has scored in almost every game.”
“He’s going to score a lot of goals this season. He understands very well when to attack, and that’s why he’s going to get a lot of chances and that’s why he’ll hopefully score a lot of goals.”
Havertz isn’t the only recent addition to the Arsenal case to stand out. When Saka jokes that he doesn’t get near the Gunners’ full-backs in training, it’s easy to see why. Riccardo Calafiori has thrown himself into life at his new club with dedication, while Jurrien Timber, who signed a year earlier but was denied almost a year of football due to a cruciate ligament injury, wants to make up for lost time. The Dutch international particularly excelled in the win over PSG, a robust first-half performance in which he linked up well with Saka and dominated his matches.
“He gave me a lot of confidence that if he is one-on-one with an attacker, he will win the ball back and give it to me,” Saka explained. “On the ball he is so composed, so calm and confident. He is a top player, I am happy that he is showing that. It must have been difficult for him, knowing that he had so many abilities but spent a year on the sidelines “He always kept his head down, stayed humble and worked so hard. I’m glad he’s getting the praise he deserves.”
It speaks volumes about the special kind of superstar Saka is that he never seems happier than when he’s asked to sing the praises of others. No wonder he has become the face of this new Arsenal.