The forward reflects on an Arsenal record he is about to break, his Ballon d’Or dreams and community work that keeps him grounded
‘It means everything because these are records that go down in history,” Bukayo Saka says intently as he prepares to play his 83rd consecutive Premier League game for Arsenal against Fulham on Saturday afternoon. A seemingly random number took on fresh meaning for Saka earlier this week when, after a difficult victory over Crystal Palace, he was told that he had just equalled a record set by Paul Merson.
The Saka and Merson eras could hardly be more different. Merson, who played 82 successive matches for Arsenal between February 1995 and February 1997, once told me that, through the lost haze of his drinking and gambling addiction, he could hardly remember anything of his occasionally brilliant career. “That breaks my heart more than anything,” Merson said between the tears as he reflected on his harrowing past.
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