A special treat lay in store for Arsenal’s crop of pre-academy boys. The group of eight-year-olds who practise at Hale End — the place Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly began their associations with the club many moons ago — were invited to be mascots for the Champions League game against Monaco. They donned their special kits, held hands with the first team, marched out onto the pitch under the lights, listened to the iconic music and then took their seats to watch Saka do what Saka does with extraordinary frequency and finesse.
Could there be a finer role model? Could there be a more exemplary figurehead for the youngsters who are taking those first baby steps towards their dreams?
These boys are at a key milestone, with the first opportunity to join the academy properly coming at the under-nine age group. They get to enjoy a special day, when they go to the Emirates to do a mini-contract signing, to receive their shirt and have pictures taken.
Saka, still only 23, represents something powerful and profound for Arsenal. He was one of those boys. He swept through the year groups, his application as impressive as his ability all the way through, and he was given his chance at the age of 17. He has never looked back. And — crucially — he has never changed. He still approaches every session with the same focus and determination to make the best out of his ability.
Against Monaco he scored twice and assisted Arsenal’s third with the reliable conviction that has become customary. He took his goal involvements for the season to 21 from 21 games. In a campaign during which Arsenal have not yet caught fire as a team, he brings guaranteed sparks and constant heat.
“He is a great example because of how he behaves daily and with what he wants to do, which is to have his best version every day, and continue to improve,” enthused manager Mikel Arteta.
A couple of years ago there was a debate about Saka’s game time, with concerns about overplaying a young talent. Interestingly, at the time, Arteta did not go along with that. He could see that he had on his hands a player with the potential to show the consistent excellence that marks the very best in their profession. “Look at the top players in the world, they play 70 matches, every three days, and you have to do that. If we put something different in their minds I think that would be a huge mistake.”
There is no mistaking Saka’s capacity. “It has been an evolution,” Arteta explained after his latest influential display in the Champions League. “He wasn’t able to do that at 17, 18 or 19. But he has developed in the right way, mentally, physically, his condition and his preparation. Now he has got the habit to play every three days and he is consistently doing that at the highest level.”
Arsenal need that from Saka at a time when they are still striving for the best collective level. It has been a strange season in that they have not really hit their stride. There are reasons for that. Games with 10 men early on, and a sequence of injuries leading to an incessantly changeable line-up, have not been helpful.
They had a streak of exciting wins last month but have found the going a bit tougher since. The performance was bitty against Monaco — at times ponderous, at others wasteful, and briefly vulnerable when their French opponents might have equalised. Fluency is still a work in progress, and it was interesting to note how the midfield trio of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino was not entirely connected. The Spaniard who joined last summer is not yet on the wavelength of some of his new team-mates.
Up front Gabriel Jesus covered for Kai Havertz and although he looked sharper than in recent cameos — contributing with an assist — he still carries the burden of the unscoring forward.
Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard share duties on the left flank, perhaps because neither has quite stamped their imprint on the team on a regular basis this season. Saka’s brilliance has been necessary at a time when others, particularly across the front half of the team, have not hit their stride.
Among the changes for this match, the most successful was the teenager Lewis-Skelly, whose combination of composure, clever positional play and creative forward passes was a delight. “It’s just a joy to watch him and a privilege to give a chance to somebody to start to change his career,” Arteta said. “He certainly took the chance. It’s great that we can trust him and that he can play in this environment with this level.”
Lewis-Skelly got Arsenal going with the strength and intelligence to look after the ball and send it forward quickly and accurately. Jesus and Saka did the rest to give their team the lead. Saka pounced on a mistake from Monaco’s goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki, and then he cracked another effort in from wide which was steered in by Havertz. All in all it pushed Arsenal to third in the gigantic league table. Automatic qualification via the top eight should follow.
Bukayo Saka with an easy finish following a brilliant Gabriel Jesus pass 😮💨
Some incredible play from Myles Lewis-Skelly on his first Champions League start 👏
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 11, 2024
On a night with strong Hale End overtones, Ethan Nwaneri came on for another taste of the action. He has figured in Arsenal’s past three Champions League fixtures, as well as six of their past eight Premier League matches.
It is not just the eight-year-olds who have Saka to look up to. Both Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri have the equivalent of a big brother in the team, who knows exactly what hurdles, both sporting and human, need attention in this particular world of elite football. Saka made a point of encouraging Lewis-Skelly before the game, telling him that this was his level.
As Lewis-Skelly said afterwards: “I’m looking up to Bukayo, he knows everything.”
(Top photo: Julian Finney — UEFA via Getty Images)
