Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka sent to bed early by his mum and dad before stunning full debut against Qarabag
Seventeen-year-old impressed on his first senior start for the Gunners - helped by his family who made sure he got plenty of sleep on the eve of the Europa League game
ARSENAL starlet Bukayo Saka has revealed the secret to his impressive full debut for the club - his mum and dad sent him to bed early.
Teenage winger Saka shone as he made his first start for the Gunners in their Europa League clash with Qarabag on Thursday night.
The 17-year-old is tipped to go on to big things in his career and boss Unai Emery had no hesitation throwing him in from the off at the Emirates.
And after the match Saka admitted he followed the instruction of his parents after learning he was in the the starting eleven.
Saka said: "My family were buzzing, they couldn't stop smiling when I told them.
"But they managed to put me to bed early to focus on today, they were so happy."
His performance and post-match interview drew praise from Michael Owen in the BT Sport studio - who compared his skill to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Owen said: "That was a brilliant interview, he handled himself great and he played great as well.
"“He looked really nervous at the start of the game, myself and Martin were both talking about it.
"But he certainly grew into the game. Just him having the courage to run at players was really refreshing to see.
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“Some of the skill… I watched Ronaldo doing this the other day for Juventus.
“It’s absolutely brilliant and so unlucky that it wasn’t given a goal.
“He’s just different class and by the end of the game, his confidence was oozing."
Arsenal boss Emery was equally happy with the way the London-born youngster expressed himself during the match.
He said: "Every young player, we have the responsibility to give them chances, first to train with us and to be demanding with their performances.
"We give them these chances in the games like today, when we can do that. They show us in every match positive things.
"Today Saka also played with a good performance, with a very big personality and we were speaking at half-time.
"His personality is very important for us to continue trying to go 1v1 and break lines with his quality.
"He played with a very big personality and sometimes with a very good performance.
"It’s very important for his confidence and for us also, because we can look at this player and see quality to help us."