My G.O.A.T.
💫 Star Boy to Superstar
Boom! 💥
Saka smashes the ball past Owusu-Oduro to open the scoring on the way to adding the Champions League to an emphatic - 100+ point - ‘Invincible’ Premier League title, completing another Treble, and bringing the curtain down on a glorious chapter of Arsenal - and world football - history.
Hale End Project
Bukayo Saka spent his career at the front and centre of the Hale End Project; evolving with the team from ‘Star Boy’ 💫, to Captain, into the Last Dance of his career.
Star Boy 💫
Bukayo Saka spearheaded the ‘Hale End Project’ as the first academy product to break into the team, leading Arsenal to early success alongside Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli, Declan Rice, and the famous ‘Wall of N5’.
Captain
Saka evolved from superstar to Captain, leading the Hald End ‘golden generation’ as Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Max Dowman established themselves in the team and established over a decade of dominance over World and European football.
Last Dance
The ‘last dance’ phase of Bukayo’s career saw him move inside from the wing to maintain elite level performance as his physical attributes started to decline; evolving from electric winger to final third goalscorer/creator.
Bukayo eventually claimed his 6th and final Ballon d’Or at 34 years old.
Hale End Lab
By carefully managing gametime and creating a tactical environment in which to thrive, Saka sustained elite level performance until 37 years old.
Physical attributes declined, but Saka remained world-class mentally and technically, scoring over half of his career goals, winning multiple Champions Leagues, and two World Cups after the age of 30.
Bukayo, through the years..
The ‘Wall of N5’
Last year also saw the retirement of William Saliba & Jurrien Timber - the last two members of the original ‘Wall of N5’, the defence upon which we built the dynasty.
Next Generation
Léon, Ékene, and Keïta proceed Saka, at the spearhead of the Arsenal attack; with Kouassi and Daniëls replacing Saliba and Timber in the backline.
Myles Lewis-Skelly becomes the new captain of Arsenal Football Club.
Thank you
Thank you very much - as always - for reading and supporting my writing, I hope you find some inspiration to take into your own teams and tactics.
At the time of writing, the FM26 BETA is expected any moment now, so I will play it by ear as to whether the adventure will yet continue or if we move on to the new game.