On Monday, Bukayo Saka finally met Arsene Wenger, who returned to the Emirates for the first time since stepping down as manager in 2018.
On Boxing Day, the Frenchman returned to north London to watch Arsenal defeat West Ham 3-1, thanks to goals from Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Eddie Nketiah.
Saka recently stated that he had not yet met Wenger and hoped to change that because the former manager is an icon to his father and a huge figure in Arsenal's history.'One of my biggest regrets or things I haven't been able to do is meet Arsène Wenger,' Saka said while on England duty.
'I know how much my Dad loves him, how much everyone at the club loves him, and, of course, what he has done for the club.'
On Boxing Day, he got his wish, posing for a photo with Wenger after the win over the Hammers and captioning it, 'And finally we meet.'Current Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was overjoyed to see Wenger return to the club and revealed that his presence had been kept from the players.
'The players didn't know, and we wanted to keep it quiet and give Arsene that space here,' Arteta explained after Arsenal's victory over West Ham.
'And it was a truly special day; thank you so much for coming. Walking through the building, he should be able to feel everything that everyone thinks of him, everything that he left here.
'His presence must have a strong connection to this football club. So thank you very much for doing that; it means a lot to everyone in the club. I'm going to speak now.'Obviously, it's fantastic, and winning means I'll be in a much better mood to speak with him and be around the team. So, yeah, he chose the right time.
'It was a really special day because Boxing Day is a beautiful day to play football. And I thought today's performance was at the level he deserves and, hopefully, will enjoy.
'I was involved in the process, but it's about him, the timing that he needed to take that step, and hopefully, he'll live here and be willing to spend more time with us and be around us because he's such an influence.
'Not only for my career and the way I see the game, but also for this football club.'
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