Bukayo Saka Biography

Bukayo Saka, born 5 September 2001 in London, is an English international football player who plays as a midfielder for England national team and

.

Born in London, he signed his first professional contract at the age of 17, being promoted to Arsenal's Under-23 team. His first official game for the Gunners came in November 2018, when Arsenal faced Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava in the 2018-19 Europa League, coming on as a substitute for Aaron Ramsey in the 23rd minute. His first game as a starter was also in the Europa League, this time against Qarabağ.

Saka made his Premier League debut on the first day of 2019, entering in place of Alex Iwobi. He was the first 2001-born player to play in an English Premier League game. After he entered the field, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the team's fourth goal in the win over Fulham. In the 2019-20 Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt, he was one of the highlights of the match by scoring a goal and providing 2 assists in the 3-0 win.

The player was born in England but his parents are Nigerian; as of December 2019, he said he had not yet decided whether he would choose to play for England or

. The youth team has played in every level of the England national team; in May 2018, he was called up to the U-17 England squad for the 2018 UEFA U-17 European Championship as the host nation.

All You Need to Know About Bukayo Saka Biography

On 1 October 2020, at the age of 19, he was called up to the England A squad for the first time. He made his debut for England A on 8 October of the same year in a friendly against Wales.

Bukayo Saka Information

Now that we know the English talented football player better, in this section of

Bukayo Saka biography

we want to share some general information about him such as

Bukayo Saka nationality

to let you know him even more. Stay tuned.

Bukayo Saka Bio

• Full Name: Bukayo Ayoyinka T. M. Saka

• Nickname: Little Chilli

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Bukayo Saka Physical Stats

• Weight: 65 Kg

• Height: 1.78 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Bukayo Saka Football Information

• Position: Winger – Left-back

• Jersey Number: 7

• Professional Debut: 2018

Bukayo Saka Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 5 September 2001

• Birth Place: Ealing, England

• Zodiac Sign: Virgo

• Nationality: English - Nigerian

Now in this section of

Bukayo Saka biography

, we want to share more information about him such as

Bukayo Saka childhood

, so stay tuned.

Bukayo Saka Early Life

On 5 September 2001, Bukayo Saka was born to his mom and dad who were immigrants from Nigeria in London, United Kingdom. Both of his parents came to London from Nigeria before he was born in pursuit of a brighter future and a better life and greater opportunities for their future children.

Upon her birth, his mom and dad named him "Bukayo" which is a unisex name meaning "Add to the happiness". It is a name that is used often by the Yoruba tribe in the southwest of Nigeria.  This means that Bukayo Saka originates from the Yoruba ethnic group in his home country of Nigeria.

He was brought up in the London area in a poor middle-class family. His parents were, like the average migrants from Nigeria, poorly educated and were not good financially, and they worked in low-level jobs and had trouble raising money to support the family in the UK and Nigeria.

On the other side, just like most of the Nigerian immigrants in London, the young football player's family was passionately interested in football. Their love of football and the relentless desire to uplift their lifestyle led Bukayo to pursue a football education in London.

Having parents who were enthusiastic about football and were fans of Arsenal, it seemed only natural for the young football player to concentrate on joining the English giants club's academy. It has been his father who took the sole responsibility of making sure that his son remains focused and dignified in his pursuit to succeed in Arsenal's youth team.

Only really talented young football players were able to make it to the Arsenal football academy. Since his family knew that Bukayo had what it takes to succeed at the youth ranks of Arsenal, they were quick to attend a trial to get into the academy. Luckily, the coaches of the Arsenal academy came calling and he managed to demonstrate his talent by successfully passing their trials.

The young football player started his career at Arsenal's Hale End Academy, however, it was not an easy journey as it was filled with many sacrifices from both him and his parents.

This fight gave the young and talented football player a lot of incentive, and this helped him to work hard all the time and ensure that he was giving it his best shot. Much like his fellow teammates, Saka picked a role model for himself. While others went with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and other famous former Arsenal players, he selected former Swedish and Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg, who at the time was a youth coach at the club.

Now in this section of

Bukayo Saka biography

, we want to share more information about his career at the Arsenal youth ranks.

Bukayo Saka Profile

As an academy member who was playing at the U15 team of Arsenal, he was getting the best advice from the legendary Freddie Ljungberg. The Swedish coach helped Saka to stay modest and to work very hard, as he believed that the young and talented footballer would become a top player.

Arsenal U18

As Bukayo Saka was a talented footballer and showed it in the youth ranks of Arsenal, he was promoting every season to the bigger teams of Arsenal ranks. On 12 August 2017, Bukayo Saka made his debut for the Arsenal U18 team in the U18 Premier League. In that match, he substituted Dominic Thompson in the 46th minute as a left midfielder. Arsenal U18 lost the match 4-1 against

U18.

Saka missed the second matchday against Aston Villa U18 due to an ankle injury. On 23 September 2017, he was able to provide his first assist to his teammates in the 4-0 home win against Reading U18. Around two weeks later, on 14 October 2017, he was the player of the match as he first gave an assist to Daniel Ballard and later scored his first goal of the season in the 85th minute.

On 25 November 2017, in the home match against Spurs U18, he was once again one of the star players of his team, where scored a double in the 6-0 win. In that match, he played only 76 minutes. In the next match against Swansea U18, he scored another goal for his team. In the coming weeks, he was injured and missed three matches. On his return from injury on 23 February 2018, Bukayo Saka scored a goal in the 5-1 home win against Brighton U18, once again proving his talent.

In the following match against

U18, he came on for Folarin Balogun in the 64th minute. He managed to score his sixth goal of the season and provide his third assist of the season in just two minutes, thus clinching the man of the match award. In his last match of the season against Swansea U18, he provided another assist.

On his first match of the 2018/19 season, Bukayo Saka played a sensational match for his team when he scored a double and gave two assists to Tyreece John-Jules and Mazeed Ogungbo.

Bukayo Saka also played his only match for the Arsenal U18 team in the U18 English Premier League final stage on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, against Derby U18. He was the star player of his team that day and scored two goals. However, they lost the game 5-2.

During his time with Arsenal U18, Bukayo Saka played a total of 27 matches, scoring 16 goals and providing 7 assists to his teammates. Other than U18 Premier, over two seasons he also played 9 matches in FA Youth Cup, scoring 5 goals for his team.

Arsenal U23

When he was just 17 years old, the Arsenal club, impressed by his great performances for the U18 team, decided to offer him a contract and the young player sign his first professional contract with Arsenal, which was a dream come true for him and his family. After signing his first contract, he was promoted to the Arsenal U23.

Bukayo Saka played his first official match for Arsenal U23 when came on as a substitute for Eddie Nketiah in the 77th minute against Manchester City U23. He was an immediate impact as he provided an assist to Stephy Mavididi 9 minutes later to make it 5-5. However, they conceded another goal two minutes later and lost the match 6-5.

On his second match of the season against Brighton U23, he gave another assist in just 19 minutes he played in the match. His first full match for Arsenal U23 was against

U23 when he started the match as a left-back. The match ended 0-0.

The next game, on 17 September 2018, he once again started the match, this time as a left-winger. He was one of the star players of his team as he scored a goal and gave an assist in the 4-0 home win match against Liverpool U23.

 On 3 November 2018, in Arsenal U23’s home match against

he scored another goal for his team, however, it wasn’t enough to prevent his team lose 5-4 against their guests. On the return match of the season against

U23, he scored a double to help Arsenal U23 win 5-1 at home.

In the last three matches of the season, he was one of the best performers for his team as he provided an assist in the two matches against Derby U23 and Chelsea U23. He also scored a goal and provided two assists to his teammates in the last match against Leicester U23.

During his spell with Arsenal U23, Bukayo Saka played a total of 25 matches in all competitions. He managed to score 6 goals and give 10 assists to his teammates. He also played 4 matches in the 2018/19 edition of the EFL Trophy for Arsenal U23, scoring one goal and providing two assists.

Now in this section of Bukayo Saka biography, we want to share more information about his Arsenal career.

Arsenal

As an Arsenal academy player who rose through the ranks of the club, he played his first match for the club on 29 November 2018 in the

Group E match against

, when he came on for Aaron Ramsey in the 68th minute.

Bukayo Saka also played his debut match for Arsenal in

on 1 January 2019, when he came on as a substitute for Alex Iwobi and played the remaining 7 minutes of the match against Fulham. It was his first and last league match in the 2018/19 season. That season he also played 4 minutes for Arsenal in the FA Cup third-round match against Blackpool, where they won 3-0.

The following season, he was promoted to the Arsenal A team and was one of the more regular players. That season, he played his very first match for Arsenal in the Europa League Group F away game against Eintracht Frankfurt. In that match which resulted in a 3-1 win for Arsenal, the player performed at the highest level as he scored a goal and provided two assists to his teammates.

During Arsenal’s Europa League campaign in the 2019/20 season, Bukayo Saka played another 5 matches, scoring one more goal against Standard Liege and giving another two assists in the matches against Standard liege and

. Arsenal lost 2-1 after the two matches against Greek giants and was knocked out of Europa League on intermediate stage.

After missing out on the first four matchdays due to an ankle injury and sitting out on the bench for the match against Watford, Saka played his first Premier League match of his season in the 3-2 home victory against

, however, he played the first half and gave his place to Calum Chambers on the start of the second half of the match.

On 30 September 2019, in the away match at Old Trafford, Bukayo Saka played 80 minutes for his team and gave an assist to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, where they drew 1-1. During the season, he was one of the regular players for Arsenal, sometimes starting the matches and sometimes coming on as a substitute. On 16 February 2020, Saka provided an assist in the 4-0 home victory against

.

In the next match against Everton, he assisted once again in a match that he played as a left-back for the Gunners. On 20 June 2020, in the away match against Brighton, Bukayo Saka who was playing as a central midfielder, gave another assist, this time to Nicolas Pépé. They eventually lost the match 2-1.

Saka scored his first and only Premier League goal in the away match against Wolves, where he was playing as a right-winger. The match ended 2-0 for Arsenal. In the next match against Leicester, he gave an assist to his teammates. This season, Saka played 26 matches in Premier League, scored one and assisted 5 goals for his team. He also played 4

and 2 EFL Cup matches.

Bukayo Saka started the 2020/21 season as a left-back in Arsenal’s home win against

. Around two weeks later, Saka scored his first goal of the season in the home win against Sheffield United. In that match, he was playing as a Central Midfielder for Arsenal. His next goal for Arsenal came in the home win against Chelsea, where they managed to win 3-1 in the derby match.

Next week against Brighton, he gave an assist to his teammates. Next match on 2 January 2021, Saka scored his third league goal and his first goal in the New Year against West Bromwich.  Now that he was showing some great performances as a right-winger, he scored a goal in the match against Newcastle and in the next match, he scored another goal and also gave an assist in the game versus Southampton.

This season, so far Saka has played 23 matches in Premier League, scoring 5 goals and providing 3 assists. He has also played 5 Europa League matches, scoring 1 goal and giving 3 assists. Saka has also played a total of 5 matches in FA Cup, EFL Cup and FA Community Shield, providing just one assist in the latter.

England National Team

Born to Nigerian parents, Bukayo Saka could have chosen to play for the Super Eagles national team. However, he has always been involved with the England national team.

Bukayo Saka competed in the 2018 European Under-17 Championship with the England team. At the tournament in his home country, he started five games. He made his mark in the first match against Israel, providing an assist. England lost the semi-final match to the Netherlands after a penalty shoot-out.

With the Under-19s England national team, he scored twice against the Czech Republic on 20 March 2019. England won the European Championship qualifier 4-1.

On 1 October 2020, Saka was called up to the England squad for the first time by Gareth Southgate. He won his first cap for the Three Lions eight days later in a friendly against Wales (3-0 win). He was not used in the next two European Nations League matches. He did start against Ireland (3-0 win) in November and in the Nations League against Belgium (2-0 loss) and

(4-0 win).

So far, Saka has played a total of 31 matches for the England youth national team, scoring 7 goals and has participated in 4 matches for England senior national team. Now in this section of Bukayo Saka biography, we want to share more information about his playing style.

Style of Play

A physically strong wing forward who is good with both feet, he mainly plays on the left side of the pitch, where he can create goalscoring opportunities thanks to his quickness and excellent technique. Also used as a full-back in the Under-17s, he is at his best near the opponent's goal, although from the 2019-2020 season he has started to find space with the Gunners as an outside forward. Due to his style of play, he is compared to Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Ryan Sessegnon.

Reception

The English football media consider Bukayo Saka as one of the current best talents in English football and believe that he has got a lot to show for the Arsenal and England national team in the coming years.

Goal Celebration

However the young and talented footballer does not have a signature goal celebration, but we have seen him performing sliding goal celebration on some occasions.

Bukayo Saka outside Football

As one of the most talented footballers in England, who is still at a very young age, Bukayo Saka is totally focused on football and developing himself as a footballer and therefore is not involved in anything other than football these days. Even when you take a look at his Instagram account, you can see that almost all of his posts are football-related.

Speaking of Instagram, in December 2020, the player decided to give away 5 PlayStation 5s to random people. Now in this section of Bukayo Saka biography, we want to share more information about his personal life.

Bukayo Saka Personal Life

In this section of Bukayo Saka biography, we will take a deeper look into his personal life and share some info about

Bukayo Saka life story

and

Bukayo Saka religion

.

Family, Children and Relationships

As we already said, Bukayo Saka was born to Nigerian parents in London England. As Bukayo Saka tries to separate his private life from the media, right now there is not much information about his parents and siblings on the internet.

And as a 19 years old talented footballer, he is currently put all of his concentration to improve as a player and play better matches for Arsenal and England and thus, he has no girlfriends.

Philanthropy

As there is not much information about his charitable works on media, but Andrew McGarty, head of global football sports marketing of the New Balance has said in an interview at the announcement of the two sides cooperation that Saka has passions off-pitch including community giveback and charity.

Legal Issues

As of the time of writing this article, there are no reports of any legal issues or disputes regarding Bukayo Saka’s name.

Bukayo Saka Career Statistics

In this section of Bukayo Saka biography, we will take a look at his career stats both on the club and international level.

Club

Since the start of his career at Arsenal U18 in 2017, Bukayo Saka has played a total of 127 matches in all competitions, scoring 32 goals and providing 35 assists to his teammates. He has scored the most and gave the most of his career assists when playing as a left-winger for Arsenal.

International

After making his national debut on 8 October 2020, Bukayo Saka has played a total of 4 matches for the England national team. He has also played on many England national youth teams. All in all, since 24 August 2016, he played a total of 31 matches for England youth national team and scored 7 goals.

Bukayo Saka Honors

During his career at Arsenal, the young player has won the 2019-20 FA Cup, 2020 FA Community Shield and was runner-ups in 2018-19 UEFA Europa League.

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