Bukayo Saka has reacted to his PFA Young Player of the Year nomination.
On Friday [September 4] it was announced that the Arsenal wonderkid has been recognised for his breakthrough 2019/20 campaign in which he impressed in a number of positions.
A winger by trade, the teenager was also used at left-back, left-wing back as well as in central midfield by Gunners head coach Mikel Arteta and didn't look out of place.
Overall, Saka finished the season with four goals and 11 assists in 38 appearances across all competitions, with six goal involvements in 26 Premier League outings.
The future is certainly bright for the 18-year-old, but he faces stiff competition to win this particular prize.
The other nominees are Chelsea duo Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham, Manchester United pair Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford, while Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold has also made the list.
It could be a double celebration for the latter as he is also included on the shortlist in the PFA Player of the Year award along with Virgil van Dijk, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Kevin De Bruyne, and Raheem Sterling.
To make the Young Player of the Year list - nominees had to be 21 or under on July 1, 2019 - and the winners will be announced on Tuesday [September 8].
Taking to social media upon learning of his nomination, Saka quote tweeted a post from the Arsenal account with two smiley face emojis to express his happiness.
One ex-Gunner who is hoping that Saka's long-term future is at Arsenal is Armand Traore.
"I think he’s an unbelievable little player. He’s very exciting and I enjoy watching him play," Traore told talkSPORT. "The advice I would give him would be stay surrounded by good people because I’ve suffered a lot from that [and] I’ve made really bad choices in my career.
"If you’re not surrounded by the right people, you will go downhill from there.
"I would tell him to stay at Arsenal. Now, if I had the chance, I would not have left Arsenal and I think I would have stayed for a few more years.
"Be patient and enjoy every time you play and work hard and be professional. Talent is not enough. I used to think that when I was younger and how arrogant I was to think that.
"If you can couple the talent with the hard work, he will be at Arsenal for the next decade, probably more."
