"He will add pace, power and creativity, with the aim of bringing more goals to our team," the Basque boss declared. "A top-class winger has been one of our key objectives." Nicolas Pepe cost Arsenal a club-record £72 million, but the club believed Lille's 24-year-old would guide them back into the top four and beyond. As it turned out, he'd score just 16 times in the Premier League during three seasons with the Gunners - £4.5m per goal.
The player Emery needed had been on the club's books for 11 years, having moved from Watford when he was only seven. Six weeks after Pepe's arrival, the record transfer was rested to the bench for Arsenal's first Europa League fixture of the season, at Eintracht Frankfurt. Into the team came 18-year-old Bukayo Saka.
The result? A first senior goal, curled sweetly into the bottom corner from outside the box, and two assists in a 3-0 away win. This time, Emery had seen the future. Arsenal's Starboy was here - and it wasn't Nicolas Pepe.
EMERY'S ROADRUNNER
Religion is a thorny subject, as anyone who's spent more than 10 minutes at a suburban dinner party will tell you. In an increasingly secular society, someone's faith can be the butt of jokes - however beige and well-intentioned - yet it remains crucial for many modern footballers' repertoires. Whether helping to rationalise their ethereal gifts or simply needing something bigger to believe in, it just works.
Saka is no different. "My Bible was a gift from my dad," he once said. "I try to read it every night before I go to bed. I memorise the messages, what they mean and try to take it into my life." Born in Ealing, west London, to parents who had emigrated from Nigeria, Bukayo takes his given name from the Yoruba for 'adds to happiness'. He's been doing plenty of that for Arsenal supporters in recent years, having honed his skills at home.
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