Bukayo Saka played his 200th Premier League game in Arsenal’s 2–0 win over West Ham United on Saturday, marking the occasion with his 100th goal involvement in the competition to rack up numbers which his manager Mikel Arteta hailed as “astronomical.”
Saka scored the milestone goal from the penalty spot midway through the second half, securing a victory for the Gunners which sent them top of the table seven games in.
The England international celebrated his 24th birthday last month but has already played as much football as some professionals manage across a whole career—it’s 314 appearances for club and country in all competitions since making his senior Arsenal debut in November 2018.
Speaking before the West Ham clash that brought the double landmark, manager Mikel Arteta spoke glowingly about Saka and his achievements so far.
“The numbers that Bukayo has at his age are already astronomical,” Arteta had said.
Addressing reporters again afterwards, he offered a similar sentiment: “When you look at those numbers, 200 games, 100 goal involvements [in the Premier League], it’s unbelievable. His age, what he’s doing, the manner that he’s doing it as well, really impressive. That’s the kind of players that we need to achieve what we want.”
Although Saka has become one of the greatest right wingers in the world in recent seasons, Arteta had also admitted that he had different plans for the teenage talent he inherited from predecessor Unai Emery upon taking over at the end of 2019.
“On my first game here, I visualised Bukayo playing as a left back!” the boss conceded. “He has come very far up the pitch and very far on his journey, very far as a person and the role he has in the team.”
In Arteta’s defence, Saka had already been playing at left back for England’s youth teams prior to the Spaniard’s appointment. But almost as soon as the new boss arrived, Saka become Arteta’s starting left back, playing the role for several months until beginning to establish himself higher up the pitch on the opposite flank midway through the subsequent 2020–21 campaign.
Bukayo Saka’s 100 Premier League Goal Involvements
55 goals and 45 assists in the Premier League aged just 24 - Bukayo Saka will always be Arsenal's starboy! pic.twitter.com/OBOL5u7yFq
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) October 4, 2025
Saka becomes the eighth Arsenal player in the Premier League era to reach a century of combined goals and assists in the competition. His ratio is slightly more weighted towards goals than assist—55:45—but the relatively even split highlights his all-round impact as both a scorer and creator.
Thierry Henry is way out in front at the top of the charts, with 249 to his name. But with Saka still in the early part of his career, he could eventually surpass the legendary Frenchman.
Arsenal Players With Over 100 Premier League Combined Goals, Assists
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Astronomical’—Bukayo Saka Joins Elite Club on Landmark Arsenal Appearance.
