How much better can Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka get?

922 days after making his Premier League debut for Arsenal as a second half substitute for Alex Iwobi, Bukayo Saka faced Gianluigi Donnarumma at Wembley with a penalty kick that would keep England in the Euro 2020 final. He missed.

With the entire world watching and the weight of his nation on his shoulders, one swipe of the 19-year-old’s left foot drew the curtain on England’s hopes of winning their first major final in 55 years. He suffered abhorrent racist abuse mere seconds later.

Look at him now.

There are no words, or even numbers, that do him justice. What this young man is producing this season transcends any expectation, not least following the crushing mental blow and disgraceful reaction that fateful night at the national stadium brought.

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How much better can Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka get? This mentally resilient 20-year-old is performing at a world class level in the Premier League

Yet here he is with the most goal involvements of any player under the age of 21 in the Premier League. This isn’t just someone with exceptional talent and maturity beyond his years, this is someone with an elite mental fortitude to overcome what occurred less than eight months ago.

The win over Watford was Saka at his glittering best, a level most saw him capable of, but one not expected to grace Arsenal this soon. He is unreservedly exceptional.

Tasked with arguably the most tactically demanding role in Mikel Arteta’s system, he needs strength in the duels, to hold the width, move swiftly on the last line, create, and score. His ability to spin his man and go either side is at a world class level. It’s not hyperbolic anymore, he performs enough aspects to such an extent that it’s rude not to have him in the conversation.

Such has been his meteoric rise that demands were then being placed on him. Wearing the No. 7 on his back and being a regular in the team, the calls for greater output grew louder. He immediately heeded those calls. Each magical performance is exceeded by the next, to the point where it complicates the boundaries of his potential.

How can Saka, with this level of consistency and in this vein of form, actually get better?

If there is one lesson that he has taught everyone it is that he is not to be doubted. Already conquering hurdles no person, let alone someone his age, should face, however mesmerised the world may be at this point there is still more to come. To what extent we don’t know.

He is 20 years old. Twenty. As unfathomable as it may be, there is, without doubt, more to come from him. Whatever he sets his mind to he will accomplish, because he’s already been faced with the toughest of mental struggles and come out the other end with a smile on his face. An infectious aura of likability overlooking a blank canvas of potential.

Saka will become the greatest ever product of Hale End. If he isn’t already.