Everything is coming together for Arsenal at the moment.
Mikel Arteta's side are through to the Champions League quarter-finals following their incredibly dramatic win over Porto, and sit atop the table thanks to the draw between Manchester City and Liverpool last weekend.
The Spaniard's team have finally grown from top-four hopefuls to title challengers, and it's been achieved through intelligent signings and the promotion of youth.
For example, one of the stars of the team has seen his wage increase by a rather remarkable 1,850%.
Bukayo Saka's incredible breakthrough
The star in question is none other than Bukayo Saka, the poster boy of this new Arsenal team.
Saka's first minutes for the first team came in a Europa League clash against Vorskla Poltava in November 2018, but his full debut came just a month later against Qarabag FK, in which he played the full 90.
GK – Emiliano Martínez
RB – Carl Jenkinson
CB – Sokratis Papastathopoulos
CB – Laurent Koscielny
LB – Ainsley Maitland-Niles
CM – Joe Willock
CM – Mohamed Elneny
CAM – Mesut Ozil
LM – Bukayo Saka
RM – Eddie Nketiah
ST – Alexandre Lacazette
It was in the following season that he really got his chance in the first team, making 38 appearances across the campaign, scoring four goals and providing 12 assists, although 17 of his appearances came at left-back.
The "incredible" youngster, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, slowly moved up the pitch during the 2020/21 season before settling into the right wing position over the course of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns, where he's played ever since.
Right-Wing
86
30
24
0.62
Right-Midfield
55
18
16
0.61
Left-Midfield
35
4
8
0.34
Left-Back
21
1
5
0.28
Left-Wing
8
0
1
0.12
Central-Midfield
7
1
1
0.28
In all, the Ealing-born gem has made 216 appearances for the Gunners, played six different positions, scored 54 goals, and provided 55 assists, all while personifying what the club want to be going forward, so it'd be fair to say developing him has been worthwhile for Arsenal.
Bukayo Saka's salary rise at Arsenal
Saka is arguably Arsenal's most important player, both for what he can do on the pitch and his image off of it, and so it would make sense that he's earning a hefty wage at the Emirates, and while he is, it hasn't always been that way.
When the Hale End graduate broke into the first team in the 2018/19 season, he was on a modest salary – by football's standards – of £10k-per-week.
The 5 foot 10 sensation remained on this contract for the first two seasons that he was a part of the first team, before earning a new deal in July 2020, which saw his wage increase 700% to a cool £70k-per-week, which also only lasted two years.
After a stunning 2022/23 campaign that saw him score 15 goals and provide 11 assists, Arsenal's 'little chilli', as former captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang named him, was given a bumper £195k-per-week deal, which represents an immense 1,850% increase on his first contract.
Therefore, when adding up his earnings since his first season with the club, the 32-capped Englishman has cost Arsenal a whopping £26.6m.
Total Wages
£26.6m
Appearances
216
Cost per Appearance
£123k
Minutes
16,558
Cost per Minute
£1.6k
Goals
54
Cost per Goal
£492K
Assists
55
Cost per Assist
£483K
Goal Involvements
109
Cost per Goal Involvement
£244k
When broken down, that means the academy gem has cost the club £244k-per-goal-involvement, £123k-per-appearance, or just £1.6k-per-minute.
Arsenal struck gold on sensational star whose wages have risen by £125k
The brilliant Arteta signing has been unreal in recent weeks.
ByJack Salveson Holmes
Ultimately, it sounds like an enormous sum of money because, well, it is, but for what Saka has been able to give to Arsenal over the years and the likelihood that he'll stay at the club for several more, it's hard not to see his contracts as a worthwhile investment.