Arsenal might have a future star in the form of Bukayo Saka.
The 19-year-old winger burst on to the scene under Unai Emery last year but if anything, Mikel Arteta has taken him to the next level again.
Saka marked his breakthrough season at Arsenal with four goals and 11 assists across all competitions, despite spending much of the campaign as a left-back.
And he’s started this season in a similar vein, culminating in an England debut after making Gareth Southgate’s first XI for last night’s 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley.
At 19, he is far from the finished article, but the early signs are very promising and his Arsenal team-mate Mo Elneny has claimed that his attitude and hunger to improve are qualities that he believes will stand the youngster in good stead.
He told Arsenal’s official website: “I love him because he’s really humble, he’s like my little brother. He’s always laughing and I love him as well because every day I can feel that he wants to learn new things.
“This makes me think this guy will improve a lot because if you always come to training to try to learn from the people around you, when you have a chance to play and give 100 per cent all of the time and you love what you do, it’s only going to be good for him.”
You couldn’t blame Saka if his nose was put out of joint a little after Arsenal signed Willian – another winger – during the summer transfer window.
But his attitude hasn’t faltered in the slightest and he remains motivated to improve under Arteta, which he no doubt will.
He has a long road ahead of him before he’s playing regularly at international level but, going by his first 12 months as a senior player in North London, few would back against him kicking on again in a big way over the next year.
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