Go Deeper The Athletic

There’s no doubt that Bukayo Saka is Arsenal and England’s starboy. The individual accolades have been piling up ever since his name first cropped up on the teamsheet. Listed for the FIFA Golden Boy Award in 2021, he is the back to back England Men’s Player of the Season, twice he has been awarded Arsenal Men’s Player of the Season, he's the PFA Young Player of the Year for 2022-23, and now FIFA Balon d'Or nominee 2023. In short the 22 year old’s career is on the up and up.

Over the course of this podcast The Athletic looks back on Saka’s brief story so far. Topics include first impressions of Bukayo as a boy, his values, how a player goes from the Academy to professional player, comparisons with Arsenal legend David Rocastle, the aftermath of the Euro 2020 Final, and what his future holds.

You will hear from former players Ian Wright and Adrian Clarke, Saka’s former coaches Greg Lincoln, Stephen Morrow, Andries Jonker, Arsenal administrator Lynn Chaney, and The Athletic’s Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas.

Get ready to fall in love a little more with the Starboy.

Written and produced by Abi Paterson
Sound mixing and production by Jay Beale
Interviews by Amy Lawrence and James McNicholas
Additional production by Mike Stavrou 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To round up our series on Brentford we answer the outstanding questions on the Bees.
What next for star striker Ivan Toney following his ban from football by the FA?
How far up the Premier League table can the club go?
And what are the club doing behind the scenes to ensure that they can keep improving year on year?
Plus we hear about the women's team and how the club are supporting them.
Hear from Chief Exec Jon Varney, Head Coach Thomas Frank, Captain Christian Norgaard, Performance Director Ben Ryan, Director of Football Phil Giles, Women's Head Coach Karleigh Osbourne, and Technical Director Lee Dykes on all this - and their thoughts on what the future holds for the club.
Host: Jay Harris
Producer: Abi Paterson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brentford Football Club suffered a devastating loss to their staff in November 2018 when Technical Director Robert Rowan passed away in his sleep aged just 28 due to a fatal cardiomyopathy episode.
Christian Eriksen, the Danish international who had a heart attack on the pitch in 2021, was lucky. He survived and went on to play for Brentford from January 2022.
In this episode we bring you their stories and tell you about the work that the club is doing with their community to raise awareness for heart charities.
Hear from Robert's wife Suzanne Rowan, Head Coach Thomas Frank, Captain Christian Norgaard, Director of Football Phil Giles, B Team Head Coach Neil MacFarlane, Technical Director Lee Dykes and Director Nity Raj
Host: Jay Harris
Producer: Abi Paterson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the questions reporter Jay Harris gets asked the most? How does Brentford's recruitment work? And are they the moneyball club?
Well in episode two we get all the answers, or at least as many as we could, from the staff and players at Brentford FC.
Hear from Technical Director Lee Dykes as he explains how he's built a unique data system to make sure Brentford can recruit the very best talent, at a much cheaper price than the rest of the Premier League. Plus he tells us how he builds squads and why he has 16 positions on the field, not 11.
Players Ben Mee and Christian Norgaard explain what persuaded them to join the West London outfit.
You'll also hear from Director of Football Phil Giles and manager Thomas Frank.
Oh, and don't call them moneyball.
Host: Jay Harris
Producer: Abi Paterson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Harris is given access all areas to one of the most intriguing clubs in the Premier League: Brentford.
The club had the lowest wage bill in the top tier and yet were able to do the double over champions Manchester City and in their short two year stay (so far) in the league, beaten the big six at least once. So how do they do it? That's what we're here to tell you.
First up, a whizz through the history of Brentford since owner Matthew Benham took over.
Hear from Chief Exec Jon Varney, Head Coach Thomas Frank, Captain Christian Norgaard, Performance Director Ben Ryan, Director of Football Phil Giles, Women's Head Coach Karleigh Osbourne, Technical Director Lee Dykes, Director Nity Raj and club announcer Peter Gilham as they tell the Bees' story
Host: Jay Harris
Producer: Abi Paterson
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third and final episode of this documentary series, presenter Mike Zimmermann explores the legacy that Lionel Messi will leave behind.
Matt Slater explains the motives behind the Saudi Pro League, and why Messi turned down nearly half $1 billion annually in favor of Major League Soccer.
The relationship between Messi and Inter Miami started back in 2018 — Paul Tenorio takes us through the initial interest from Miami, the inner workings of a contract that includes equity and profit-sharing from Apple and Adidas, and how Messi will change Major League Soccer, both on the field and off.
With MLS and Apple partnered for the next 10 years, a broadcast deal worth $2.5 billion, Richard Deitsch describes Lionel Messi's arrival in the US as "a massive catalyst" for Apple's soccer coverage and the media landscape.
You'll also hear from Andrés Cantor, legendary Telemundo Deportes broadcaster, about how Messi is viewed in Argentina leading up to the 2024 Copa America and 2026 World Cup, both being played in the United States.
Produced by Mike Zimmermann.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices