Bukayo Saka: Arsenal and England’s starboy

09/07/23 • 28 min

There’s no doubt that Bukayo Saka is Arsenal and England’s starboy. The individual accolades have been piling up ever since his name first cropped up on the teamsheet. Listed for the FIFA Golden Boy Award in 2021, he is the back to back England Men’s Player of the Season, twice he has been awarded Arsenal Men’s Player of the Season, he's the PFA Young Player of the Year for 2022-23, and now FIFA Balon d'Or nominee 2023. In short the 22 year old’s career is on the up and up.

Over the course of this podcast The Athletic looks back on Saka’s brief story so far. Topics include first impressions of Bukayo as a boy, his values, how a player goes from the Academy to professional player, comparisons with Arsenal legend David Rocastle, the aftermath of the Euro 2020 Final, and what his future holds.

You will hear from former players Ian Wright and Adrian Clarke, Saka’s former coaches Greg Lincoln, Stephen Morrow, Andries Jonker, Arsenal administrator Lynn Chaney, and The Athletic’s Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas.

Get ready to fall in love a little more with the Starboy.

Written and produced by Abi Paterson

Sound mixing and production by Jay Beale

Interviews by Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas

Additional production by Mike Stavrou

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Get ready to fall in love a little more with the Starboy.

Written and produced by Abi Paterson

Sound mixing and production by Jay Beale

Interviews by Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas

Additional production by Mike Stavrou

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Access All Areas: Brentford - Episode 4: European ambitions and the Ivan Toney dilemma

To round up our series on Brentford we answer the outstanding questions on the Bees.

What next for star striker Ivan Toney following his ban from football by the FA?

How far up the Premier League table can the club go?

And what are the club doing behind the scenes to ensure that they can keep improving year on year?

Plus we hear about the women's team and how the club are supporting them.

Hear from Chief Exec Jon Varney, Head Coach Thomas Frank, Captain Christian Norgaard, Performance Director Ben Ryan, Director of Football Phil Giles, Women's Head Coach Karleigh Osbourne, and Technical Director Lee Dykes on all this - and their thoughts on what the future holds for the club.

Host: Jay Harris

Producer: Abi Paterson

Next Episode

Liverpool: A League Cup love affair

Ahead of appearing in their record 14th League Cup Final against Chelsea on Sunday, join Caoimhe O'Neill as we take you through Liverpool's nine previous League Cup wins.

Jamie Carragher, Mark Lawrenson and Rob Jones all share their memories of winning the tournament with the Reds during their playing days, while Walk On regulars Tony Evans, Simon Hughes and James Pearce share the significance of each triumph along the way.

Presented by Caoimhe O'Neill

Produced by Guy Clarke

Written by Guy Clarke and Caoimhe O'Neill

Contributions from Jamie Carragher, James Pearce, Mark Lawrenson, Rob Jones, Simon Hughes and Tony Evans

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