Why is Saka called Little Chilli? Some Arsenal fans were asking this earlier today when the England international scored to make it 1-1.
The Gunners No.7 – who is now Arsenal’s top scorer this season with ten goals to his name – equalised for the Gunners against Aston Villa with a superb strike into the top corner.
After the goal, Arsenal posted on Twitter that it was a “big moment from our Little Chilli” – but why is he called that?
Let’s take a look…
Why is Saka called Little Chilli?
Well, the 21-year-old was given the nickname by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
As quoted by ESPN, Saka said: “It started from Auba. He said it in French. We’re doing a finishing drill one time in training and he kept saying it, and I kept scoring. I was shooting with so much power and he was calling me little chilli in French (petit piment).
“I didn’t know what it was. I asked him after and he told me it means little chilli. From then on he kept calling me it and then it became a thing, and now it’s a big thing. A lot of people call me it, and made it my nickname.”
In our opinion, Aubameyang gave him the nickname to describe Saka as being ice cool in front of goal.
The Gabon international even gave the Hale End graduate a chain with a chilli on it before leaving the Emirates Stadium, which you can see below.
Clearly, Aubameyang’s nickname has well and truly stuck, with Arsenal continuing to refer to their No.7 as Little Chilli even years after the 33-year-old departed the Emirates Stadium.
At the time of writing, Arsenal now trail 2-1 to Aston Villa after Philippe Coutinho cancelled out Saka’s equaliser, so the Gunners have plenty of work to do if they are to avoid going four Premier League games without a win.
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