Bukayo Saka is feeling the love at Arsenal and is growing increasingly confident he will sign a new long-term deal with the club.
The England international currently has two years remaining on his deal and is yet to be rewarded for his prominent role within Mikel Arteta’s squad. But the Gunners boss recently declared he had no concerns about him signing a new contract - despite tentative links with Premier League rivals including Liverpool.
“I’m very confident that we as a club, Bukayo, his family, his agent, everybody, we are very much aligned with what we want to achieve,” he said last week. “Now it’s about putting it on a piece of paper.
“I would like that to get done because I don’t want the player or anybody to be distracted while we are in the middle of the season, but those things take time.”
And the 20-year-old has backed up his manager’s viewpoint of negotiations, claiming his relationship with Arteta is a key reason behind his willingness to put to pen-to-paper. “Yes, I share his confidence,” he said on the likelihood of a new deal.
“I feel like the manager’s always there for me,” the Arsenal star explained. “He knows when to speak to me, it’s not too much but it’s not too little and the different bits of advice he gives me are special and it makes such a difference.
“I really feel at home here. I really feel the love from my team-mates, my coaches and the fans as well. I really feel loved here.”
Saka is part of a young and vibrant Arsenal squad who have set the pace in the fledgling Premier League campaign. As the only top-flight side with a 100 per cent record, they can make it five from five when they take on struggling Aston Villa at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
Steven Gerrard will be desperate to see a response from his players, with the Villa boss coming under intense scrutiny after a dismal start to the new season. Villa gave Saka some special treatment in the reverse fixture last term, leaving the forward to ask for some extra protection from officials.
But ahead of the meeting with the Midlands outfit, Saka has admitted that extra attention will become part and parcel of his experience moving forward and that he must adapt to it.
“Of course, sometimes it’s not nice, but it is what is and it’s part of my game and if I’m going to want to dribble past players and stuff like this, I’m going to get kicked sometimes but I have to get on with it.”
The Gunners will be backed by a raucous home crowd against Villa, with the fanbase as united as it has been for a number of years. Saka added: “It is a perfect start, we can’t say anything other than that – but we know how difficult it is. We are looking forward to playing in front of our fans again.
“We’re loving every bit of it, 1,000 percent. It gives us the extra energy and we’re so happy to play here and every time we feel that energy. We feel stronger as a team for that extra bit of a boost from the crowd.
“Definitely I would say the Emirates is getting better and better and I hope it continues to get better as the crowd is amazing. It gives the players fuel.”
