Bukayo Saka: The Time Is Now

Saka is our talisman.

He's the one that makes us tick going forward.

You can see that he is not a man. He is the man.

He has been a top-class pro for at least half a decade.

- Playmaker... - Making him captain...

- ...goal scorer... - ...was an astute move...

...and Starboy.

I love Bukayo Saka. However, I think the form has dipped a little bit.

Within that half a decade, he's had basically no success.

- His numbers aren't great. - He hasn't been that good.

He's been injured so many times.

He just hasn't answered the Champions League question.

Twenty-two years since they won

a Premier League title, it's in their grasp.

I don't even see a leader on the pitch for Arsenal.

A goal or assist is expected every single game.

He's been tremendous.

There's not much we can ask of the kid.

It all falls on his shoulders at the moment.

Saka!

I've been so close to the glory and success and the trophies...

for club and for country.

I need to find that next level.

Thierry Henry, one of the best players to ever play.

He's reached the levels that I still dream of doing.

He has a lot of dreams, big dreams.

That boy thinks he can fit five lifetimes into one.

One thing that his dad taught him

was be the best at absolutely every avenue you take up space in.

So the pressure he puts on himself

and the world and everything he does,

I could never pretend to understand.

He's actually quite vulnerable.

Henry recognises that.

He's able to get through and have conversations

with Bukayo that no one else can have.

He means a lot. He's been around for ages now.

I feel like maybe he's been... As long as I have been around.

You understand each other, they see each other.

It's like a mirror.

They could talk for hours and hours.

And every time, it's like some deep, profound experience.

It's really good for him.

Just knowing where I came from...

knowing what it took,

my dream is to have a legacy,

to win titles,

make history.

I'll never get this moment again.

Look at this guy.

Who are you waiting for?

-For you. -Oh, really?

You know Jollof rice?

Do you know where it's from? Senegal.

Nah, let's not have this conversation, man.

It is from Senegal.

-How do you know that though? -You need to know your stuff.

No, but how do you know that for sure?

Jollof is Wolof word. Wolof, that's what they speak in Senegal.

-Yeah? -Mmm-hmm.

-Educate... -You need to know that. I mean,

-it's the same rice, beans, plantain. -Yeah...

Same as Caribbean food.

Is that your favourite? Caribbean?

When it comes to food, nothing is above

my mum's food.

It brings memories back.

-That's the way it was. -Yeah.

- There we go. -Yeah!

Mmm.

I grew up with my mum. My dad was different.

My dad was more the discipline that you need to have in order to reach

the level that... I never expected I was going to reach.

Like, he was harsh in that way.

-Yeah. -And for me, praising my dad

was way more difficult than any guys that was going to talk to me.

My dad was the same, very demanding.

- -Pushing you every day, every day.

-But what does he say now? -Now?

Yes.

If I have a game and I had one action where he thought I could have do better,

he would tell me. "B, blah-blah." He won't speak about anything else.

-Really? -"When you got there,

"why didn't you fake him? And then he will slide, and then you score."

'Cause he hates it. The most thing he hates

is when I shoot, and it gets blocked.

And it's another marvellous save by Donnarumma!

He complains when I get kicked a lot.

"If he kicks you,

"you have to smash him back."

-And I'm like, "Listen--" -That won't work.

-It don't work like that. -Back in the days, maybe,

-but not any more. -It don't work like that. He said, "Yeah."

Every time it happens, I think of him straightaway.

I always used to go like, "Wait, hang on a minute."

Listen, my dad was difficult.

But look at where you are.

You play for France.

And the Arsenal.

What was difficult was before technically.

So, you should embrace that people are asking you to do more stuff.

I think it's the other way around though. So for example,

once you became the France, Arsenal top scorer,

Premier League, I think it's more difficult

to maintain that than to reach that.

With the pressures and the expectations and--

-Yeah, for sure. -Or you don't agree?

Yeah, I feel like you had the same situation.

You had the expectation, France.

Yeah, it was kind of weird

because the expectation of '98, we had none.

You know, when you have journalists and ex-players that give the lists?

-Yeah. -I was in none.

-You wasn't in the "maybe"? -None. Nobody saw me going.

It was kind of weird because you going to the under 17,

under 18, under 19, and you pass the stadium.

I'm like, "I hope I can have some tickets."

That was your first World Cup,

-and you won? -Yes.

Hey, that's crazy.

The impact that it had on the French people.

-Yeah. -And seeing people going,

more than a million on the Champs-Élysées--

-You said, a million people? -Yeah, it was way more.

Some people said that the last time the Champs-Élysées were like that

was for the liberation of Paris.

Suddenly, that's when the expectation kicked in for me.

Because we were not expected to win it.

-Okay, I understand it, yeah. -If you know what I mean.

And suddenly, now you put the cup back and, "Let's win it again."

France nil, Senegal one.

And then, "Let's win it again."

Italy are champions of the world.

And then, "Let's win it again."

But South Africa have beaten France today...

Then you never win one again.

Along the way, it becomes the norm, normality,

that you reach a level where you're numb to happiness.

It's never enough.

I've always wanted to know actually, I never asked before.

Hmm?

So obviously, you could have been sitting with me right now with two Euros.

Two Euros, one World Cup, yeah.

-Two finals? Euros? -Yeah, two finals, man.

And you have none.

I'm not having a go.

I'm just saying how do you go back now in the tournament

thinking, "We need to win something"?

-How do you go in your head knowing-- -Mmm-hmm.

what it is to play for England and the pressure of the press?

How do you do that?

When you put the England shirt on, there's an expectation already, you know?

You have to win, whether it's a friendly.

You can't win 1-0. Otherwise, they kill you.

And especially, when people speak about the Euro stuff

and what happened the last time I took a penalty, that adds to it.

It's heavy.

Another amazing moment in an incredible year.

What's it like to get your first England call-up?

When I landed, I turned off aeroplane mode and I'd just seen a text.

"We're happy to confirm that you've been selected for the England national team."

And I was staring at it for five minutes in shock.

I'm so, so happy, you know?

It's an honour to be called-up for England

'cause I've been dreaming of this moment, so I'm so happy.

My family's so happy and we just can't put into words how happy we are.

The growth around a young player now, if they're playing in top flight,

is difficult to prepare them for until they're living it.

When I first met Bukayo, he was probably around 14.

I was working for Arsenal at the time.

Everyone was just excited about this young talent that was in the academy.

He was a very inquisitive, kind soul,

and seemed very sure of himself and confident.

Still, a very soft, gentle human being.

And then, he took the step into the first team.

It's a wonderful goal from the teenager, Bukayo Saka.

You can see the exposure building and building.

It's hard for people to understand unless they're living it.

I just wanted to protect him

from the parts of the industry that are quite challenging.

There's Saka again! The Starboy continues to shine!

Moving into the Euros,

I knew that if he played well,

his whole world changes that summer.

This is Kane.

It's not just playing for my club, you know, it's the whole country.

It might fall for Saka!

A first international goal at senior level for Bukayo Saka!

England had a chance to win the Euros. We haven't won it before.

And I almost feel like a responsibility to give back

all the faith, all the trust that they've given me.

Saka. Trying to stop him from doing so. Sterling is in.

That's how you remember Bukayo Saka!

But no one can predict the outcome that we had of the final.

The trophy will be decided via penalty shootout

for the first time, in fact, since 1976.

The penalty, people always talk, like,

"I would have done this." No, you wouldn't.

You wouldn't 'cause you've never been in that situation.

Walking that walk.