If Bukayo Saka can go on to have a career similar to Patrick Vieira’s spell at Arsenal, Gunners supporters all over the world will be delighted.
The Arsenal star bagged himself a brace against Crystal Palace as the Gunners ran riot at the Emirates, dispatching their cross-London opponents 4-1 to stretch their lead at the top of the table to eight points over Manchester City.
And in doing so, Saka’s brace meant he passed Arsenal legend Vieira, who was recently sacked by Palace, on the Gunners all-time goal scoring list.
During his long-tenured spell at Arsenal, Vieira scored 32 goals from midfield which Saka has now surpassed courtesy of his Palace brace.
And it seemed almost fitting for Saka to pass the ex-Palace boss on the day Arsenal played Vieira’s old team, with Gunners supporters at the Emirates singing the name of their former captain.
Both prior to the game and during, Arsenal fans sang Vieira’s name, clearly aiming a shot at Palace’s decision to sack the Frenchman earlier this week.
And after the full-time whistle, plenty of Arsenal fans claimed their rout over Palace was for Vieira.
One Gunner wrote: “We hope you enjoyed the beating @CPFC that was for our legend Patrick Vieira” while another added: “Revenge for Patrick Vieira.”
Another tweeted: “This win is 100% for Patrick Vieira.”
While Palace are going through a dismal run of form, they had faced a host of top Premier League teams, and were 12th in the table prior to his dismissal by the Eagles.
Last term, he also guided Palace to Wembley, with the club reaching the FA Cup semi-finals before being dumped out of the competition by Chelsea 2-0.
