Image may contain Face Head Person Adult and Happy
Arsenal fans have got a few things to be smiling about this Monday morning. But if you've got a Gunners fan in your life, you've probably already heard them bragging about the FA Community Shield win across every communication platform available There were a few standout moments: Calafiori's goal in under a minute; Ødegaard turning it up like the glory days; Maresca being another Man City manager that lost their debut match. In the middle of that, it was Saka sprinting down the pitch that caught my eye. Firstly, he played great. More importantly, he had a banging new lid.
Saka sent TikTok spiralling this off-season when one selfie on Instagram Stories was angled in such a way that it looked like he'd shaved all his hair off. There were mixed reactions. “It's Bukayo from now on” said one comment; “tell me this is fake [3x crying emoji]” said another. Bald Bukayo? Admittedly, I wasn't convinced.
Image may contain Adult Person People Head Face Clothing Shorts and Conversation
Eddie Keogh - The FA/Getty Images
No reason to panic, though. When he finally did his post-holiday Instagram dump, holding his catch of the day (a man of many talents!), there was a clear view of his cornrow braids. There's two that follow his hairline, slightly crossed at the front, and frame the traditional cornrows that top the start of his fade. They look clean. They look slick. They look like the braids of a man about to go on a heater.
The thing is, Saka's performance last night might have proved a theory that I've had for a long time. Getting new do, no matter how drastic, signals a shift. Moving on from your old cut is like moving on from your past self and all the bullshit that came with it. A less cringe way of saying you're going through a new beginning without having to post a fake deep quote on your Instagram Stories.
For Saka, it comes after a year of football he'd probably like another run at. The guy has had a bit of a tough year, having spent most of it trying to recover from an Achilles injury he got in March. The World Cup was a disappointment, for many reasons, but for England fans, Saka spending so many of those games on the bench was a major one.
But Sunday's performance showed that we've got the football player that we all know and love back. New beginnings? I guess it's more about him returning to who he was before the injury. With some sweet cornrows pulling him into focus, and Arteta's assurance that he's fully recovered, it looks like we're only going up. Bad day to be Man City.