Arsenal star Bukayo Saka says the heartbeat of Nigeria still pulses through everything he does, despite spending his entire life in London.
In a heartfelt BBC interview, the 23-year-old opened up about how the values his parents brought from Nigeria continue to anchor his identity.

“My name is Bukayo Moses Ayoyinka Temidayo Saka. I am proud of it,” he said, emphasising that the cultural teachings he grew up with still shape the man he is.
Born to Nigerian parents, Saka said discipline, humility, and respect were not random traits; his family instilled them long before he became a Premier League superstar.

His roots run deep into Yoruba communities; his mother hails from Kwara, and his father from Ogun, and Saka has visited his extended family there.
His first name, Bukayo, meaning “adds to happiness,” is something he carries with deliberate pride.

Although wearing England’s colours on the international stage, Saka insists he comfortably balances his dual identity.
He embraces his British upbringing, but never distances himself from the Nigerian values that moulded him.