Bukayo Saka Shocks Arsenal Fans by Revealing His Greatest Teammate Isn't a Current Gunner

Bukayo Saka turned back time to his early Arsenal days when selecting Mesut Özil as his finest teammate, bypassing numerous gifted players to choose a polarizing figure from the club's recent past.

Saka's debut Arsenal start came playing alongside Özil in December 2018. Positioned on the left flank in a heavily rotated lineup for a Europa League match against Qarabağ FK, the 17-year-old earned Player of the Match honors in a game settled by the German midfielder's assist for the sole goal.

Nearly seven years later, Saka continues as an Arsenal first-team regular while Özil departed north London long ago.

"Exceptional talent," Saka described the lanky German when BBC Radio 5 Live asked him to identify his top teammate recently. "Enjoyable to play alongside him, entertaining to observe him."

Mikel Arteta didn't always find managing Özil quite so enjoyable.

Why Mesut Özil Represents a Divisive Choice for Saka

The ex-Real Madrid playmaker accumulated the majority of his 17 appearances with Saka during the opening half of the 2019–20 season before the COVID-19 outbreak halted global football. When the Premier League resumed through "Project Restart," playing matches in vacant venues, Özil had vanished from Arteta's plans.

The precise reasoning behind this dramatic shift has remained mysterious. Özil had previously sparked controversy through several politically charged comments yet continued featuring under Arteta initially. The club's top earner allegedly belonged to a select group refusing salary reductions during the pandemic's peak, though his manager maintained this wasn't behind his shocking exclusion.

"Frankly I accept complete accountability," Arteta stated after omitting Özil from the club's Premier League roster for the 2020–21 campaign. "I must be the one extracting the best from players. This is my duty. It has nothing to do with any conduct or, as I've seen reported, the salary reductions."

Özil responded poorly to the decision, criticizing from the margins and questioning the absence of "faithfulness" before ultimately moving to Fenerbahçe on a free transfer in January 2021.

Some of Saka's present teammates might dispute this assessment. Despite featuring 3,000 fewer minutes, Martin Ødegaard has already surpassed Özil's Premier League goal tally while several England colleagues—particularly Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham—present compelling cases as his most skilled teammate.