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Bukayo Saka finally got to meet Arsene Wenger on Monday, with the Arsenal legend returning to the Emirates for the first time since he left as manager in 2018.
The Frenchman was back in north London on Boxing Day and watched the Gunners beat West Ham 3-1 thanks to goals from Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah.
Recently Saka had spoken about how he had not yet met Wenger, hoping to change that as the former boss is an icon to his father and such a huge figure in Arsenal’s history.
On England duty, Saka said: ‘One of my biggest regrets or things I haven’t been able to do is meet Arsène Wenger.
‘I know how much my Dad loves him, how much everyone at the club loves him and I know what he done for the club, of course.’
On Boxing Day he managed to get what he wanted, posing for a photo with Wenger after the win over the Hammers and posting it with the caption: ‘And finally we meet.;
Current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was thrilled to see Wenger back at the club and revealed that his presence had been kept a secret from the players.
‘The players didn’t know and we wanted to keep it quiet and allow that space for Arsene here,’ Arteta said after Arsenal’s win over West Ham.
‘And it was a really special day – thank you so much to him for coming. Hopefully, walking through the building, he’s going to feel everything that everybody thinks of him, everything that he left here.
‘His presence is something that has to be very attached to this football club. So thank you for doing that because it means a lot to everybody in the club. I’m going to go now to speak to him, hopefully he’ll be waiting for us in the dressing room.
‘Obviously, it’s great and winning means my mood is going to be much better to speak to him and be around the team. So yeah, he picked the right moment.
‘A really special day, because Boxing Day is a beautiful day to play football. And I thought the performance was at the level today that he deserves, and hopefully he will like.
‘I’ve been involved in the process, but it’s about him, the timing that he needed to make that step and hopefully, he’s going to live here and be willing to spend more time with us and be around us because he’s such an influence
Source:The Mirror