This Bukayo Saka kid is bloody loveable, isn’t he?
Seemingly blessed with a David Goggins-like mentality, Saka has gone from strength-to-strength since enduring the lowest moment of his senior career thus far in the summer of 2021.
His critical penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final and the subsequent abuse he received could have derailed a blossoming young career. However, Saka has since re-emerged as a force of nature down Arsenal’s right flank.
He’s the cornerstone of Mikel Arteta’s incredibly exciting project in north London and he scored his 20th Premier League goal since that infamous penalty miss at Villa Park on Saturday.
In celebration, Saka took inspiration from an Arsenal great of yesteryear.
Saka crashed home Arsenal’s first equaliser in the Gunners’ thrilling 4-2 victory at Aston Villa with a thunderous strike from inside the area. Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez stood motionless as the winger’s effort pierced the back of the net.
To celebrate, the jubilant 21-year-old strolled over to the nearest corner flag and held it with his right hand while placing his left hand on his hip before posing.
Honouring the King 👑 pic.twitter.com/3cbH6qpDww
— Bukayo Saka (@BukayoSaka87) February 19, 2023
Saka took to Twitter after Arsenal’s potentially season-defining triumph to reveal where the inspiration for his celebration came from.
The England international tweeted a picture of his celebration alongside Thierry Henry, who performed the exact same pose after scoring for France against Saudi Arabia at the 1998 World Cup.
Big Up Legend…😉 pic.twitter.com/7jI4obAd1Y
— Kylian Mbappé (@KMbappe) February 11, 2022
Saka wasn’t the first to pay homage to Henry’s seemingly innocuous celebration.
In February 2022, Kylian Mbappe performed a similar pose after scoring against Rennes and, like Saka, he took to Twitter after. “Big Up Legend”, he captioned his post, although he was instead inspired by Henry’s hand on the goalpost celebration during his spell with the New York Red Bulls.
Credit: 90min.com
