For a teenage footballer, it could hardly have been a bigger stage. Playing for England at WembleyThe stadium in north-west London where England play home games has been described as "the cathedral of football". against their most feared opponents, Germany, was the stuff of dreams. Between them, the two teams fielded some of the world's most talented players. But few excited the crowd more than England's electrifying young winger, Bukayo Saka.

Alongside Saka's technical gifts - "from his exquisiteDelicately beautiful. It derives from a Latin word meaning "chosen with care". touch to his sprinter's acceleration" - the football writer Matt Hughes praised his temperament: a lack of nerves that allowed him to play the biggest game of his life as if it were an mundaneOrdinary. It originally referred to something that belonged to Earth rather than heaven. training session. "In an understated manner," he concluded, "he was simplicity and grace in action".

None of this came as any surprise ton ArsenalCollection of weapons.  fans. Earlier this month, they voted the 19-year-old their player of the season. He accepted the award with typical modesty: "I'm so delighted, and my family are so happy. It's just such an honour to put the shirt on and represent you guys."

Born in London to Nigerian parents, Saka was soccer-mad - and highly competitive - from early childhood. "After school, we would eat and then it was straight into the garden to play football. We would play for hours. My dad and brother would want to go back inside but I never let them. We kept playing until I won."

At his primary school, Edward Betham in Greenford, West London, he is remembered with great affection. "He was so lovely, very hardworking, always did his best," says his former class teacher, Caroline Chamberlain. "He was very responsible and showed a lot of care and consideration for others."

"The thing about Bukayo is that he deserves everything he got. Nothing was ever too much for him, he was never big-headed, he was very grounded... Fame has not changed him. He's still the wonderful, respectful young man he always was."

Bukayo was just seven when he started at Arsenal's Hale End academy. "It was quite a struggle for my parents to help get me there," he remembers, "but they always gave their all and got me in training".

Despite his devotion to football, Saka never neglected his schoolwork, gaining four A*s and three As in his GCSEs.

At 17 he signed a professional contract with Arsenal. Two months later he made his debut for the senior team - and in less than two years he was playing for England.

Before yesterday's match, he said: "It will be the biggest game of my career. I don't know how I'll feel on the day, but right now I'm not scared of anyone really."

Some say, yes. In every walk of life - but particularly in sport and the arts - there are people who have made a big splash at the beginning of their careers only to fade into obscurity. It is much better to work your way up gradually so that when you reach the peak of your career you have a proper understanding of the world and are not carried away by success or open to exploitation by others.

Others argue that athletes have limited careers - lasting 20 years if they are lucky - and need to progress in them as fast as possible. Saka has the speed and energy of youth - and the fearlessness. All these talents are priceless assets in a game like football. Someone level-headed can cope with the downsides of wealth and fame, and he clearly meets that description.