‘He embarrassed me!’ - Bukayo Saka names his toughest opponent

The Gunners star opened up on his experience of going up against Sergio Busquets during the summer of 2019.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets is the most impressive player Bukayo Saka has faced in his career so far.

The Arsenal winger has recalled his encounter with Busquets in an interview with GQ magazine. The pair met in a pre-season friendly in 2019 for the Joan Gamper Trophy exhibition at Camp Nou, which Barcelona won 2-1.

Saka was 17 at the time and had just broken into the first-team squad, then coached by Unai Emery. He came on as a second-half substitute for Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the friendly.

‘He just embarrassed me’

“The way [Busquets] just so elegantly turned me! I came at him to press him, I tried to fake this side then go to the other, and the way he just embarrassed me: I was just like, yeah, this guy is elite,” Saka said.

“The way he just took me out of the play, I said, ‘Respect.’ He is three steps ahead of everyone and that’s what makes you a top footballer. That’s what I realized that day.”

What next for Saka?

Almost three years have gone by since then. Saka is now an undisputed regular at Arsenal. Still only 20, he has supplied nine goals and five assists in 30 Premier League appearances this season.

The England international will hope to get back on the scoresheet this Saturday when Mikel Arteta’s side visit Southampton, knowing only a victory will keep their top-four hopes alive.

At the time of writing, Bet365 has priced a Gunners victory at 1.90. This suggests they have a 53% chance of all three points in the Premier League match.