I knew him when he was a young Buk & it's been amazing to see my nal's rise

OLAYINKA ON ARSENAL EDUCATION

- BY PAUL O’HEHIR

BUKAYO Saka's every move against PSG was being scrutinised in a sitting room in Waterford on Wednesday night.

James Olayinka couldnt sit still as he kicked and headed every ball that fell Arsenal's way in their Champions League showdown with the French giants.

And his nervous energy was particularly heightened when his friend and former Arsenal team-mate Saka was directly involved.

The England star scored with 14 minutes to go, giving the Gunners a flicker of hope, but their fate was effectively sealed when Saka then missed an open goal minutes later.

Considering how ruthless Arsenal were in dispatching Real Madrid in the quarters, Olayinka was convinced his former club could come from behind heading to Paris.

But it wasn't to be and there will be no Champions League final date, with PSG marching on to face Inter Milan in the May 31 decider in Munich.

New Waterford FC recruit Olayinka joined Arsenal as a youth in 2019 and played with Saka 35 times in various underage teams from Under-18s to Under-23s.

“I've known him a long time now,” Olayinka told Mirror Sport ahead of tonight's clash with Galway United. “We've been playing together since we were eight or nine years old.

“He's a friend of mine and to see how his career has gone, and to see him playing deep into competitions like the Champions League, is crazy and incredible.

“We're still in contact and we speak here and there.

When I get chances to go down to London, I still go to watch some of the games.”