Arsene Wenger says he looks forward to meeting Bukayo Saka one day after the Arsenal star said he deeply regrets never meeting the Frenchman.
Wenger managed Arsenal for 22 years and was deeply influential in the careers of many of the club’s greatest ever players. But he left at the end of the 2017/18 season, before Saka’s first-team debut in November 2018, meaning their paths never crossed.
“One of my biggest regrets was that I haven’t met Arsene Wenger,” Saka said earlier this week. “I know how much my dad loves him, how much everyone at the club loves him. I know what he has done for the club, of course.”
Wenger has now given his response in an interview with L’Equipe ahead of England’s meeting with France in the World Cup quarter-final on Saturday. “That’s very nice of him. We’ll end up meeting each other one day, of course,” he said.
“I’m happy about his development and the fact he’s still playing at Arsenal. I was told about him when I was still at the club, he was one of two or three guys who were coming through. I heard some very good things about him, I’m told he has a very good mentality.
“That’s reassuring because these days, players are glorified so quickly that it’s important for them to have good foundations.”
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Saka was still coming through the Arsenal academy when Wenger was in the final years of his long spell as manager. He has gone from strength to strength with the Gunners, establishing himself as a first-team regular under Mikel Arteta’s management.
The 21-year-old already has 151 games under his belt for Arsenal and has 28 goals and 35 assists for the Gunners. His form at club level has transferred into international football, where he is now Gareth Southgate’s first-choice player on the right of England’s attack.
Saka has three goals in as many appearances at the World Cup, having netted twice in the 6-1 demolition of Iran in the opening game before grabbing another in the 3-0 win over Senegal in the last 16.
He is likely to start in Saturday’s crunch game against France, with Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford vying for the spot on the other flank, with Raheem Sterling very likely to feature after returning from England following a robbery at his home.
As much as he has enjoyed seeing Saka’s development, Wenger is backing France to win the game. “For six months, I’ve been saying that France can retain their title,” he said. “It’s a young squad, that’s hungry, which is not at the end of the road.”
