Bukayo Saka’s answer to leading question shows he is the ultimate professional
Bukayo Saka enhanced his burgeoning reputation with another superb display in Arsenal’s Champions League win over PSG but it wasn’t just his attacking qualities that caught the eye.
Wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of Martin Odegaard, Saka tormented Nuno Mendes and capped another authoritative performance with his second goal, albeit slightly fortuitously, from a free-kick which evaded everybody and foxed goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
In the second half, Arsenal were largely on the backfoot at PSG attempted to overturn a two-goal defefict.
Saka was forced into a more defensive role to help assist makeshift right-back Riccardo Calafiori who had been asked to swap positions as a result of an injury scare that forced Jurrien Timber to be substituted at the break.
Discipline and diligence have long considered qualities that make Saka such an effective, all-round team player.
The England star confessed he would prefer to be focusing most of his efforts on causing havoc in the final third, he admit he wouldn’t last long under Mikel Arteta if he wasn’t putting the success of the team first.
‘We’re all attacking minded, we want to go forward, but the manager has emphasised a lot the other part of the game,’ he told Amazon Prime.
‘I’m sure if you stand on the sideline, you can hear him a lot when we’re out of possession!
‘It takes a lot of sacrifice & discipline, because, to be honest I do want to be more forward, but it’s what the team requires.
‘When I see the results, we have a lot of clean sheets, so it’s paying off & it encourages me to keep doing it — me, Gabi, the other players.
‘I see a lot of people speak about us & the way we play, but for us, it’s about results. Different games have different contexts and we have to do whatever it takes to win in any context.
‘Whether it’s on set-pieces or play our beautiful football, we just want to win.’