Growing up, Bukayo Saka idolised Cristiano Ronaldo and the Arsenal winger’s admiration for him has only increased over the years.
Saka initially looked up to Ronaldo for his talent, but more recently he has earned a newfound respect for how his work off the pitch has prolonged the 39-year-old’s career. Ronaldo turns 40 in February and is still captain of Portugal.
Perhaps that has rubbed off on Saka, as there are few players at Arsenal who can match his work ethic when it comes to recovery and taking care of their body. It is how the winger is able to constantly shake off knocks despite being routinely targeted by opposition defenders.
On the pitch, Saka has a long way to go to match the exploits of Ronaldo - who during his career transformed from a tricky winger into one of the game’s greatest ever goalscorers.
But Saka is certainly making strides and this season only Mohamed Salah has been involved in more Premier League goals than him.
“To look is always good,” said Mikel Arteta, when asked about Saka trying to emulating Ronaldo’s exploits.
“And probably, the way Cristiano started his career and when he joined Manchester United, nobody probably expected in the first few seasons [he would] be able to do that.
“But again, it was about his mentality, his work ethic, how he developed his skill, his chemistry with his team and to play in a team that has the capacity as well to be dominant.
“That is very, very important. I think B has got that context and if he is aiming for that, I think it is a positive thing.”
Last week marked the six-year anniversary of Saka’s Arsenal debut and he has come a long way since then.
He first broke into the team at left-back but even then, when he was just a teenager, Saka always knew his future lay elsewhere on the pitch.
“I feel like my dream was always to be a winger, to affect games, score goals and get assists,” he said in 2020.
Such confidence is rare in a teenager and Saka used the time at left-back to further his own game, learning how Premier League wingers played against defenders.
He has since grown into one of Europe’s most lethal wingers and this season, in particular, Arteta has noticed a “shift” in his output.
“He is adding things to his game,” he said. “He is more and more consistent and, his numbers in terms of impact in goals and assists is incredible at this stage of the season. He can only improve, he can only get better.”
It is not just this season that Saka’s numbers are “incredible”. He needs three more goals or assists in the Premier League to hit the 100 mark.
Saka will surely achieve that by April and in doing so he would become the fourth youngest player in Premier League history to reach 100 goal involvements.
Only Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Robbie Fowler will have done it quicker - but Saka will be ahead of both Cesc Fabregas and Ronaldo.
In a dream world, Saka could reach the 100 landmark tonight on is what the 500th competitive men’s fixture at Emirates Stadium.
The winger has a brilliant track record against Manchester United in the Premier League, scoring three goals and claiming two assists. Thierry Henry, with 12 goals and four assists, is the only Arsenal player with a better tally.
Arteta also has an impressive record against United, winning six of his nine league games against them.
The arrival of Ruben Amorim will give the visitors hope that they can change that - but stopping Saka will be key to United having any success.
Diogo Dalot has been used as a left wing-back in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system and will likely be charged with that role again.
The fact he is a natural right footer may help him contend with Saka cutting inside, but so far this season few have a found way to stop the Arsenal winger.
That has become even harder for teams now Martin Odegaard is back. Odegaard and Saka share a superb understanding of each other’s games, which Arteta compared to the Barcelona midfield of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Xavi.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “They didn’t even need to look at themselves.”