Conor McGregor engaged in some light-hearted sparring with Bukayo Saka after Arsenal’s victory over PSG on Tuesday.
The Gunners continued their unbeaten start to the campaign in all competitions against the French giants with goals from Kai Havertz and Saka enough to secure victory.
While Mikel Arteta was overjoyed with his team’s performance in the Champions League, he may not have been quite so happy to see what was happening on the pitch after the full-time whistle.
Earlier this week Declan Rice shared footage of himself enjoying a kickabout with the Irishman in the empty stadium on social media.
What those posts didn’t show however, is McGregor offering the Premier League stars an introduction into his world.
Conor McGregor was pictured with Arsenal stars after their victory over PSG on Tuesday
The former UFC champions shared a clip of himself playfully sparring with Bukayo Saka
As part of a series of posts shared on McGregor’s Instagram account the former two-weight UFC champion could be seen moving around with Saka in the centre of the pitch.
A giggling Saka immediately retreats backwards while McGregor touches him with kicks to the legs and body.
The pair then shake hands seemingly signalling the end of the fun, but McGregor cannot help himself and utilises the gesture to armdrag his unwitting sparring partner into a clinch.
As they seperate Saka reminds the 36-year-old to ‘be careful’, with the risk of injury no doubt a major concern to a player who has proven integral to Arsenal’s recent success.
As he walks off camera a voice believed to be the England international then says: ‘he could have done my ACL like that’, likely in reference to the leg kicks delivered by McGregor.
While Saka will wait just two days before he is back in action as the Gunners play host to Southampton, when McGregor will once again ply his trade is still unclear.
The ‘Notorious’ hasn’t fought since July 2021, where he suffered a serious leg injury during his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.
A long-awaited showdown with lightweight contender Michael Chandler was scheduled for the main event of UFC 303 for June of this year.
A shaking of hands appeared to signal the end of the exchange before McGregor pulled Saka into a clinch
Saka had to remind the excited Irishman to be careful, and could later be heard expressing concerns that the kicks could have left him injured
However, fans began to speculate on the fight’s status after a press conference was abruptly cancelled and the UFC subsequently officially cancelled the bout revealling McGregor had suffered a broken toe in training camp.
Despite being the biggest star in the history of mixed martial arts, McGregor’s future in competition has remained something of a mystery since then, with Dana White recently announcing that he will not fight in 2024.
The Irishman has two fights remaining on his current UFC contract, but has expressed an interest in competing in bare-knuckle boxing, having become part-owner of BKFC earlier this year.
