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Bukayo Saka has revealed he had trials at Tottenham and Chelsea as a youngster but Arsenal were ‘always in his heart’, with the presence of Arsene Wenger having a big say on his decision.
The 20-year-old is enjoying an excellent campaign – netting six times and laying on four assists in 18 Premier League starts this season – and his impressive performances have earned him a regular place in the England team.
Saka is one of a number of players who came through Arsenal’s Hale End academy before making the grade in the first team, though he was chased by a host of London clubs when he was younger.
Asked how close he came to being a Tottenham player, Saka laughed and told Sky Sports: ‘I remember one session, and I don’t think I went to another one.
‘But, yeah, I think it was just to go and try different clubs but we always had Arsenal in our hearts.’
Asked who else tried to sign him as a youngster, Saka continued: ‘There was Arsenal, Chelsea I was at for a bit, there was Watford, there was Tottenham.
‘I think there was maybe two more but those are the ones that I can remember from the top of my head.
‘Arsenal was the one I always wanted to go to. It seemed like they had a lot of faith in their youth and there was a clear pathway.
‘You could see the players coming up from Hale End to London Colney, and my dad also really believed in the project and he loved Arsene Wenger a lot.
‘So I think Arsenal was the club in the hearts of my family so we chose them.’
On playing against Spurs at academy level, Saka added: ‘Yeah I do remember – we used to beat them a lot! We used to beat them because we had a really good academy. Tottenham was obviously a good game but we’d normally beat them.
‘I’d say my favourite one was probably the FA Youth Cup game, I think we were losing 1-0 or 2-0 and we came back and I scored a really good goal, powered it into the near post, top corner. I think it even touched the crossbar a bit, I don’t know for sure, but it was a very good goal and I went to the Tottenham fans and celebrated, so it was nice.’
The post Arsenal star Bukayo Saka reveals how close he came to joining Tottenham and Chelsea appeared first on Football Audit.
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By: Football Auditor
Title: Arsenal star Bukayo Saka reveals how close he came to joining Tottenham and Chelsea
Sourced From: www.footballaudit.com/arsenal-star-bukayo-saka-reveals-how-close-he-came-to-joining-tottenham-and-chelsea/
Published Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2022 07:22:47 +0000
