If shirt numbers are an indication of a player’s seniority within a team structure, then Arsenal fans will be rejoicing after seeing what digit Mikel Arteta has handed to Bukayo Saka.
The 18-year-old has been a revelation at the Emirates Stadium this season, a real bright spot amongst the gloom that has sometimes enveloped the club.
Arteta has done a reasonable job so far of bringing back some sort of identity to the Gunners’ play, giving them a more recognisable style.
It’s players such as Saka that have allowed him to do just that, and given his tender years, there’s every reason to think that there’s an awful lot more to come from a player who has taken everything in his stride so far.
Equally at home as either a left-back or a marauding left-sided midfielder, the youngster’s work-rate, desire and application has already made him a crowd favourite.
The fact that he’s been handed such an iconic number, worn previously by the likes of David Rocastle and Robert Pires, is unlikely to faze him, and surely is a marker for how highly he is rated by the club.
Looks like Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s new number 7.
— arseblog (@arseblog) July 23, 2020
Bukayo Saka, Arsenal’s new No.7!
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) July 23, 2020
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) July 23, 2020