Bukayo Saka reveals his role to help secure major Arsenal transfer as he tells fans ‘the future is exciting’
pThe former a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196655/west-ham/West Ham/a captain moved to the Emirates in a deal worth £105million this summer #8211; a record fee for a British player./p
figure id=attachment_23772321 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 645pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/arsenals-bukayo-saka-applauds-fans-840364130.jpg?strip=allamp;w=635 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23772321 width=635 height=960 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditPA/figcredit/figureBukayo Saka has revealed his role in convincing Declan Rice to join Arsenal[/caption]
figure id=attachment_23840951 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/declan-rice-arsenal-celebrates-victory-842287233.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23840951 width=960 height=640 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureRice signed for Arsenal for a record breaking £105m[/caption]
pBut Gunners fans may owe another of their star players some thanks for his role in the transfer after he put in a good word for the club./p
pSaka, 22, revealed he used his close bond with ex-Hammer Rice to lure the midfielder into Mikel Arteta#8217;s squad./p
pa aria-label=Saka told talkSPORT (opens in a new tab) href=https://talksport.com/football/1557222/bukayo-saka-declan-rice-arsenal-england/ target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerSaka told talkSPORT/a: “Obviously he’d ask a few questions and I’d answer them./p
p#8220;But yeah, I’d just try to give him the reassurance that he’d be coming to the right club and that the future is exciting for us.#8221; /p
p#8220;If he joined us, he’d make us better and that yeah, we can definitely achieve things.”/p
pDuring the summer Saka a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21552672/arsenal-line-up-transfer-overhaul-rice-osimhen-xhaka/had been working as Arteta#8217;s secret weapon/a to try and convince Rice to make the switch across the capital. /p
pSaka and Rice, 24, are both key men in a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/gareth-southgate/Gareth Southgate/a#8216;s England squad./p
pEarlier this year fans started to spot the growing bond between the pair during Three Lions training sessions./p
p class=has-text-align-centerstronga href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/betting/20812234/free-bets/ target=_blank aria-label=FREE BETS - BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS (opens in a new tab) rel=noreferrer noopenerFREE BETS #8211; BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS/a/strong/p
pAnd Arsenal fans were convinced they were getting their man in March when Saka and Rice were spotted a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21811095/arsenal-declan-rice-transfer-bukayo-saka-ian-wright-england/joking about the latter#8217;s future with Gunners legend Ian Wright./a/p
pThen, following a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196653/arsenal/Arsenal/a#8216;s dramatic a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/21132096/arsenal-fans-rice-like-saka-post-transfer/3-2 victory over Manchester United last season/a, Rice appeared to #8220;like#8221; a post on a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/bukayo-saka/Bukayo Saka/a#8216;s Instagram page./p
pThe England midfielder has gone on to make a remarkable start for Arteta#8217;s side./p
pRice swung Arsenal’s game against a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/team/1196656/manchester-united/Manchester United/a in the Gunners’ favour in added time on Sunday./p
pHe scored his first goal for Arsenal from the edge of the box to put them 2-1 up, before a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/who/gabriel-jesus/Gabriel Jesus/a netted too to seal a 3-1 win./p
pAn over-the-moon said after the game: “That was amazing, I think I’ve watched his goal back 20 times./p
p#8220;It was an unbelievable moment for him and his family. Even the stadium, he said it was crazy when he felt the atmosphere./p
p“He’s right though, it’s really special to play there. I’m just happy he’s happy and that he’s performing, and he’s got his first goal as well./p
p#8220;I don’t think there’s a better moment for him to get his first goal. So yeah, I’m happy for him.”/p
figure id=attachment_23840147 class=wp-caption alignnone style=width: 970pximg decoding=async loading=lazy src=https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/l-r-declan-rice-bukayo-842711568.jpg?strip=allamp;w=960 alt= class=alignnone size-thesun-article-image wp-image-23840147 width=960 height=951 /figcaption class=wp-caption-text/figcaptionfigcreditGetty/figcredit/figureThe pairs close bond begun at their time training for the England team[/caption]