SAKA’S NEW DEAL WORTH £300,000 A WEEK

Winger has improved his finishing after rising to Arteta’s challenge... and now celebrates like Henry too!

BUKAYO SAKA will earn close to £15million a season when he finally signs his new contract with Arsenal.

The winger is emerging as one of the players of the season and scored a brilliant goal in England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine on Sunday.

Sportsmail exclusively revealed last month that the 21-year-old had agreed in principle a new long-term deal worth a minimum £10m a year. However, sources have indicated the true value of his deal — inclusive of bonuses and other attached payments — is closer to £15m, taking his weekly wage to about £300,000 per week. The contract will make Saka the best-paid player at the club and one of the biggest earners in Arsenal’s history.

A host of clubs, including Manchester City, have been monitoring Saka’s future given his current deal is due to expire at the end of next season.

But Saka has privately made clear he wants to stay at Arsenal having been convinced of the club’s direction under manager Mikel Arteta. He is eager to start his Champions League career, with Arsenal in pole position to qualify for the competition next season.

THE re- emergence of a trademark celebration, one synonymous with an Arsenal icon, is one indicator of a confident player in a good place.

The sight of Bukayo Saka peeling off to the nearest corner flag, grabbing it and standing bolt upright — in homage to club legend Thierry Henry — has been an increasingly common one in recent weeks.

We have seen it from him as he has continued to inspire Arsenal towards a first Premier League title since 2004. And there it was again at Wembley on Sunday after he cut in from the right and bent the ball, beautifully, into Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s top corner to help England maintain their perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying.

Saka, 21, is the definition of an in- form footballer right now. Improving, evolving and repeatedly a match-winner. The talent has always been there with Saka. Never in doubt.

Cardiff goalkeeper Rohan Luthra, a former pre-academy team-mate of Saka’s at Arsenal, told Sportsmail last week: ‘I was about seven but still everybody knew then that wow, this guy could be something special. Obviously now he is something special.’

Footage of an even younger Saka scoring a hat-trick nine years ago for one of Arsenal’s youth sides resurfaced recently, showing his long- standing effectiveness in front of goal.

Now it is just that his considerable talents are being consistently displayed at the highest level. The England manager Gareth Southgate highlighted how Saka has added a ruthlessness to his game in the last 18 months, contributing to a confidence in front of goal.

Now in his fourth season as a regular first- team player for Arsenal, his improved goal return supports that. There were four goals and then seven in Saka’s first two full campaigns as a senior Arsenal player. His tally jumped to 12 goals in 43 appearances last season. He already has 12 in 28 league games for his club this season — as well as 10 assists — with 10 games remaining.

The word ruthless may well be ringing in Saka’s headhead, with the Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, demanding it from his brilliant winger all season.

‘He has to be a ruthless winner. That’s it. Simple,’ Arteta said in August. ‘That’s his mentality, that’s what he needs to do. He has this ability now he’s going through a place in his career and he needs to go to the next level right now.’

Arteta knows what makes Saka tick. So obviously likeable and one of the more popular and funny members of the squads he is part of — for club and country — there is a humility, toughness and professionalism too, which Arteta knows means there will be the right response from Saka when he is challenged.

When it would be easy to moan about the rough treatment his star man gets, Arteta has instead shifted the onus to what Saka and his team-mates can do to help him get the better of the hatchet men. When to take possession in certain situations, what to do when he receives the ball, how to use his body, when to challenge aerially. ‘The first one who has to protect Bukayo is himself,’ Arteta added.

When the issue of burnout has been raised, Arteta has again attempted to flip the issue by setting a challenge, explaining how the top players in the world ‘ play 70 matches’ and every three days.

Saka takes great care of himself off the pitch and like his ability, his robustness cannot be questioned. He has racked up 50 appearances for club and country already this season, five short of his career high.

There have been Europa League games this season when it may have been expected Saka would have been given some time off but he has been there, ready to play.

It was the same against Ukraine where he was on the pitch until the final whistle even though the game had long been won thanks to his first-half assist and goal. In fairness, the reliance on Saka is nothing new — it has been that way since he was coming through the youth ranks at Arsenal while also being needed for England youth duty, sparking concerns about burnout which ultimately proved to be unfounded.

Arsenal staff also have fond memories of the one- to- one sessions a younger Saka had with analysts after training when he broke into the first-team, looking in detail at where he could develop and improve.

When it comes to goalscoring, he now has a wide range of finishes in his armoury that he can deploy with added finesse and composure, as shown against Ukraine.

Combined with his ruthlessness and confidence Saka may very well have more need for that Henry-inspired celebration too.