Report reveals the 'defining moment' when Saka decided to commit his future to Arsenal

A fresh report reveals the defining moment when Bukayo Saka decided to commit his future to Arsenal.

Saka starred as the Gunners thrashed Everton 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, to move five points clear at the Premier League summit.

The England international opened the scoring while Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard also found the net.

The victory made it three wins on the bounce for the Gunners and provided another statement win after a run of difficult results in February.

Saka in particular sparkled during the crucial encounter against Everton. The winger has now registered six goals and three assists in his 11 league games since the World Cup, having also made the difference against Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United.

And if reports are to be believed the 21-year-old has signed a new contract at Arsenal.

Defining moment in Saka’s contract talks

It was widely reported last week that Saka has agreed to a new deal at Arsenal.

Indeed, the Mail Online claimed that the contract will be worth a minimum of £10million a season, though will more likely amount to a figure closer to £15million.

The publication also alleged that while a deal in principle was reached last week, the “defining moment” in talks came days before Saka left for the World Cup in November.

Before England departed to Qatar, the Gunners allegedly made a last-ditch attempt to improve the terms on offer to Saka, knowing full well the consequences if the winger became a star of the tournament.

The revised offer was reportedly more in line with what Saka is worth, and a broad verbal agreement was subsequently struck.

The finer details of the contract were reportedly then ironed out last week.

After their match-winning performance last night, Arteta was full of praise for both Saka and Martinelli.

The Arsenal boss said: “It’s a credit to them because in the end, they have to do it themselves, but we try to help them with our way of playing by trying to get them in those positions as much as possible.

“They are so willing to learn, they are asking for more and more every single day, and they never have enough information, they want more.

“They want the space, they want the practice and at the end when you have that and you have the talent that they have and the ideas that they have, at the end good things will happen.”

Topics: Football, Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Gabriel Martinelli, Transfers

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.