There were many surprised pundits around when Bukayo Saka was even included in Gareth Southgate’s final England squad for the Euros, given the wealth of young talent at his disposal at the moment.
But the Arsenal youngster made the final cut, and Southgate even played him in his opening friendly against Austria last night, and to cap it all off, Saka scored the only goal of the game.
It would appear that Saka may well have earned a starting spot in the Group games after listening to the high praise that Southgate gave Saka after the game. Southgate told TeesideLive after the game: “I thought both Saka and Bellingham were excellent.
“They were as they’ve been since they’ve walked through the door with us.
“In training and matches they’ve played with confidence and freedom, they’ve played with maturity too.
“I thought Bukayo right from the start linked the game really well. He received the ball well on the line and on the inside, he’s got a lovely ability to receive in traffic in the infield and manipulate his way through. He’s like a slippery eel getting away from those challenges.
“He produced a nice run on the outside with a nice cutback cross, so yeah I thought his all-round game having worked hard defensively for the team was excellent.
“I was really pleased with him and for him to get the goal.”
With England being amongst the favourites to win the competition, it is great news that us Arsenal fans will have someone to cheer on at the Euros, and with the amazing trajectory of Saka’s career so far, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him to score the winner in the Final…