England has just released their latest squad and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka is missing from the list (The FA). The Arsenal youngster has had one of the best seasons by any English teenager.
There was room in the squad for some players making their debut, while others earned a recall to the national team, but Saka was still missing.
It will be recalled that England manager, Gareth Southgate had watched the teenager on several occasions, most notably in the FA Cup semi-final as Arsenal beat Manchester City to reach the final and eventually win the competition.
Saka has been one of the most impressive youngsters in England this year after bursting onto the scene with the Gunners.
He made 26 league appearances for Arsenal last season, scoring once and providing 5 assists for the Gunners.
His form was also impressive in other competitions after scoring twice in the Europa League and providing an assist in the EFL Cup.
There was space in the team for Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood and Manchester City’s Phil Foden and the likes of Eric Dier, James Ward Prowse and even Harry Winks.
Of course, those players play different positions to Saka but the point is that Saka deserved a call up even if he was unlikely to play while others that have had inferior seasons have been called up.
This snub should serve as a motivation to Saka and we hope that it will push him to work even hard in the coming season so that he can get the international recognition that he deserves.
