Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal project is finally in full swing, after years of struggles and disappointing results the club currently finds themselves in a title race with Manchester City, and by the looks of it, the future is all set to be riddled with success.
There’s no underselling Arsenal’s achievement, they’ve pulled off a rebuild from the ground up while spending less extravagantly than their Premier League rivals.
The team is almost entirely made up of young names and talents, which is perhaps the most impressive aspect of their squad-building.
The club have recruited smartly while also integrating youngsters from the academy, resulting in an exciting team that will likely bring Arsenal glory for years to come.
While the young names in the team are many, the fanbase has embraced one particular player as their poster child, and for good reason too.
21-year-old Bukayo Saka is no less than an Arsenal hero in the making, the forward is already among the best players in the league, with his potential being off-the-charts.
The England International has notched up 8 goals and 8 assists so far this season, which include some important goals and assists in crucial games. Saka has endeared himself to the Arsenal faithful on numerous occasions, and as far as fans are concerned, they think he’s well on his way to a future Ballon d’Or.
There’s a lot more to be said regarding Gooners’ love for Saka, but to spare you the read, here’s an ingenious T-shirt that encapsulates the entire sentiment.
Created by Illustrator @Dan_Draws, the t-shirt celebrates Arsenal No.7 by splashing in some Manga-inspired flavour.
It’s stylized, bold, very cyberpunk and of course, it’s red in colour.
Borrowing the iconic poster art of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Manga series ‘Akira’, the T-shirt swaps in Saka for the protagonist and also introduces some cool new details.
For the uninitiated, Akira is a manga with an anime series of the same name, one that has become a cornerstone of modern-day pop culture.
The manga itself taps into cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic themes, it is set in the futuristic city of Neo-Tokyo, a dystopian setting viewers see through the eyes of protagonist Shotaro Kaneda.
Akira’s unique art style is incredibly eye-catching, which could possibly be the reason behind the artist’s choice for the T-shirt.
The graphic on the T-shirt presents an Akira-esque illustration with Saka standing front and centre while clutching a football instead of Kaneda’s helmet.
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In the backdrop is the Emirates’ famous facade, and skyscrapers also populate the background to sell the cyberpunk aesthetic.
Other details include a stylish Arsenal-themed leather jacket as seen on Saka, and some neat lettering is also present on the back.
Situated below the illustration is possibly the most impressive aspect of the design, recreating Akira’s signature typeface the title here boldly reads ‘Saka’, it also features splashes of Japanese lettering just like the original.
The entire graphic is captioned with the words ‘North London is about to explode’ with a strong emphasis on the ‘explode’ as a reference to a major plot point from the manga.
And of course, it also suggests that Saka is lighting up North London.
We can’t praise the T-shirt enough, it is truly a splendid effort and one that has quickly topped our wish-list. If it has piqued your interest as well, the T-shirt can be purchased here, keep in mind that stocks are limited.
