Bukayo Saka
The London Standard|October 31, 2024
The making of a London icon
MALIK OUZIA AND SIMON COLLINGS
Bukayo Saka

Eight minutes, three touches and a corner of net. That is all Bukayo Saka needed on his return to Arsenal's line-up on Sunday to breach the Premier League's best defence and simultaneously restore a sense of energy and calm to the Emirates Stadium.

He had missed just two club matches with an injury picked up on international duty, but that had felt an age for a player whose durability is renowned, and whose workload and work rate in his young career have at times bordered on the obscene. Arsenal were dreadful in both games, beaten away at Bournemouth and then squeezing past a limited Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to an own-goal in the Champions League.

A 2-2 draw with Liverpool was neither a disaster nor a game-changer for Arsenal's title ambitions, but his performance on comeback was a reminder that Saka's absence or availability will be. Starboy remains the moniker, but Saka has long since developed into Arsenal's attacking talisman. He has begun to wear the captain's armband with increasing frequency, including from the start against Liverpool, and the boyish face is (slowly) beginning to look a little less so.

"What I like about B is that when he needs to show his teeth and have that edge, he has got it," manager Mikel Arteta said recently. "He does that in a really special way."

Beyond Arsenal, Saka is established as a capital icon, an inspiration to this city's children and cast upon billboards in others around the world. Today, he has been named one of the Standard's 100 people shaping London, and deservedly stands shoulder to shoulder with the other 99. He is no longer just the jewel in the Arsenal crown but a figurehead in himself, with driving influence on this team even greater than Martin Odegaard, William Saliba or Declan Rice.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 31, 2024-Ausgabe von The London Standard.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der October 31, 2024-Ausgabe von The London Standard.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS THE LONDON STANDARDAlle anzeigen
Kylie Minogue loves the bar at Louie, startling Beefeaters and snooping in The Conran Shop
The London Standard

Kylie Minogue loves the bar at Louie, startling Beefeaters and snooping in The Conran Shop

Currently it’s largely suitcase-based as I’ve been doing so much travel for work, but Melbourne, Australia, is home.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Are Spurs willing to invest what it takes to win trophies?
The London Standard

Are Spurs willing to invest what it takes to win trophies?

Criticism of the manager for the club's struggles misses the point-whatever he says, he's not been given a squad ready to push for the biggest honours

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Crowning glory awaits Britain's golden girl
The London Standard

Crowning glory awaits Britain's golden girl

Odds-on favourite to win BBC Sports Personality, Keely Hodgkinson never doubted she was ready to conquer the world

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Residents at war over £10 billion 'Shanghai-style' Earl's Court plan
The London Standard

Residents at war over £10 billion 'Shanghai-style' Earl's Court plan

Controversial proposals are causing a huge furore in west London

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
The secrets of selling the capital's £40m homes
The London Standard

The secrets of selling the capital's £40m homes

Armed security, NDAs, a gold temple...inside the world of ultra high-end property deals

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Jenny Packham on Amsterdam why is truly magical at Christmas time
The London Standard

Jenny Packham on Amsterdam why is truly magical at Christmas time

The designer gets lost in the cobbled streets and is entranced by the city’s twinkling lights and unique spirit

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Alfies Antique Market
The London Standard

Alfies Antique Market

Here is a place to blindly lose oneself in a labyrinth of staircases and thresholds.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
Decline and fall: what comes after peak wellness?
The London Standard

Decline and fall: what comes after peak wellness?

The social elite are obsessed with devices that track their health but the backlash is building

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
The newest AI can arrange your holiday- but will it be a strictly woke one?
The London Standard

The newest AI can arrange your holiday- but will it be a strictly woke one?

A lightning-quick artificial megabrain with an appetite for social justice? WILLIAM HOSIE has a chat with Claude Al

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024
'Fame just isn't healthy
The London Standard

'Fame just isn't healthy

Mercury Prize-winning band English Teacher on the pressure of success, trying not to burn out and the challenges black women face in indie music

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 12, 2024