Do you know what I don’t do enough of?

Giving props to Bukayo Saka.

I think it is because he’s been in the team for so many years now, he’s been one of our – arguably outright our – best players who so frequently delivers good performances that when he gets another goal or has another good game, when I do my post match musings I usually don’t talk about him as much as I should.

But the fact he won the PFA Young Player of the Year yesterday gives a perfect opportunity to hand our some flowers to our young Starboy.

He’s only 21 too! Well…for another week at least, but he’s been in our first team as a regular for the last four year’s and whilst we all still say how young he is as a person, I don’t think anybody can argue how experienced and mature he is as a footballer. Had Erling Haaland not essentially been an all-record-breaking machine that he was last season, I’m pretty sure Saka would have been in with a shout for the main award too. He is an essential part of our team and it is no surprise that Arteta has basically refused to bench him at any opportunity. Even at the weekend, when Arteta felt a need to take off a player to bring on Jorginho for us to (unsuccessfully) hold on to our lead, it was Odegaard he chose rather than Saka. That’s because that kid has moments of magic in him. At the weekend he didn’t even play that well for his standards, yet he still converted the penalty and still had little flashes of brilliance.

I certainly take for granted a number of things with Saka. I take for granted his goals, for which he has steadily improved season-on-season and already has two to his name; last season he notched 15 in all competitions and hopefully he can beat that this season. I take for granted his ability to deliver end-product for his colleagues; last season he got 11 assists and again I bet he’ll be looking for more this season to show that steady but regular improvement. I take for granted his availability; I know he’s only 21, I know we all see the treatment he gets from Premier League opposition and the clear lack of protection he gets too, but every time he’s knocked down he gets back up. That shows a level of robustness that you need when you’re playing in a position like he does and I have everything crossed when I say I hope he can continue to be a guy who can remain strong in his body to be able to not break down now or at any point in the future. Arteta has said that if he wants to be one of the world’s best – previously citing Ronaldo and Messi – that he needs to be able to play 60 games per season. Last season he managed 48 in all competitions and you’d imagine that with the hope we can go deeper in the cups and in the Champions League, that he can get closer to that 60 game mark this season. Again, let me re-iterate, I have everything crossed that he can.

I take for granted his personality too. He comes across as such a nice kid. I haven’t heard a bad word spoken about him, he comes across brilliantly in the All or Nothing series, he seems humble and is an intelligent lad too. He seems well grounded and in an era in which young men who play football professionally have so much wealth and people fawning over them to blow smoke up their arse, he genuinely seems like a guy who takes it all in his stride, remains humble and is very down to earth. I just hope he can maintain that for as long as possible because it will serve him well as he grows older and as more and more fame and global renown starts to increase the older he gets and the better he gets.

He is the jewel in our current Arsenal crown and it was fantastic to see us tie him down to a four-plus-one deal in the summer. Yes, we’ll most likely be negotiating with his people again in two year’s time, but as long as we remain competitive, as long as he keeps improving, then by that time we might be looking at the best player in the world, if he keeps his trajectory going. If that happens then you have to pay him that big wedge; it is what he is worth.

So to see him smiling yesterday with that big PFA player trophy was a glorious thing and I’m so pleased he was given the deserved accolade. Hopefully he caps off a fine week by having a blinder against United on Sunday.

And hopefully his fellow teammates who were also named in the PFA Team of the Year – Ramsdale, Saliba and Odegaard – also have stormers too. A little one on Ramsdale in particular; at a time in which some are speculating that the England ‘keeper will soon lose his place to Raya in the Arsenal team, this accolade shows just how impressive he was last season, despite what some say. He beat off every other ‘keeper to that award. Why? Because this award was voted by professional footballers and they know a fantastic ‘keeper when they see one. Well done to Rammers particularly, as well as the deserving Saliba and Odegaard.

I think I’ll probably leave it there for today. There will no doubt be more coming out today about transfers outbound for Arsenal, but nothing feels too concrete at the moment, so I expect that to become a little clearer over the course of today and then we can chat about it tomorrow.

Have yourselves a fab one.