Bukayo Saka explains why Cristiano Ronaldo is 'perfect example' as Arsenal winger reveals admiration for Man Utd legend

At 22 years of age, Saka is still in the process of unlocking full potential in his game. He has made impressive progress in that quest, passing 200 appearances for Arsenal and 50 senior goals. Saka also has 32 caps for England and rarely misses a match through injury.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has set Saka the challenge of becoming a player that can handle 60-70 games a season with ease, much like evergreen five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo. Saka has said in The Mirror of pursuing that goal: “He [Arteta] told me the elite players all do it, so if I want to get to that level I have to be ready to play that many games and try and help my team win each of those games as well.”

He added on Ronaldo, who is still going strong at 39 years of age on the books of Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr: “He was a perfect example of that. He just exploded and turned into a goalscoring machine and I think he inspired a lot of players to try and follow in his footsteps. But at the same time I just want to try and be myself and do what's required to play and win for Arsenal.”

Saka does have a habit of picking up slight knocks, that can lead to him being substituted, but that is due to luring opposition defenders into tackles and he feels more battle-hardened than he was when first breaking through in north London. The tricky forward added: “I feel like I’m physically much stronger than I was four or five years ago. For each tackle. I have more experience in terms of which ones to go for and which ones to jump, to try to avoid a big tackle. So I’m much smarter as well as physically stronger than I was.”

Arsenal and England are hoping to see Saka steer clear of fitness problems over the coming weeks, with the Premier League title-chasing Gunners readying themselves for a derby date with Tottenham on Sunday while the Three Lions are counting down the days to a bid for Euro 2024 glory.