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Bukayo Saka cements his spot as fierce competition for England places hots up before Euros
Arsenal star Saka scored a hat-trick against North Macedonia to nail down his place on the right side of England’s attack, with an array of attacking players battling for a spot on the other flank
Bukayo Saka has become the complete player for England and a must-pick at next year’s Euros.
But Saka’s remarkable rise into a potential world class talent has only heightened the fierce competition for England places in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
It has put Raheem Sterling ’s place under ever severe threat as England’s best player in the last Euros is now facing a battle to even make the squad with FIVE others battling it out for a place on the left.
Arsenal winger Saka, 21, has made the right flank his own with Southgate admitting that he has become his go-to star as he can rely on him for goals, work rate and also defensive duties without the ball.
Saka scored a hat trick against North Macedonia in England’s 7-0 win but that is also down to hard work with his club to take his game to the next level.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was determined to help Saka work on his finishing, improve his goal stats and make that part of his game even more impressive.
Saka has always been known for his efficiency, decision making – he has arguably the best of any player at his age – and passing but now his finishing has improved dramatically.
Saka scored five goals in all competitions before the World Cup and then scored 14 in total for club and country post Qatar which just underlines his improvement and Arteta’s hard work has paid off.
That has nailed down Saka’s place on the right while Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, Mason Mount and James Maddison are all in the mix for the spot on the other side.
England boss Southgate said: “Bukayo is an outstanding talent, he’s totally reliable without the ball, he’s humble. So everything is there.
“But football doesn’t always work like that. There’ll be dips of form. There’ll be injuries. But that is the challenge for the squad. I’d rather have that situation than say it’s a headache for you. That isn’t a headache. That’s a brilliant position to be in.
“Raheem’s a fighter. What we know is he’s scored an incredible amount of goals for us, important goals, that’s now a more even competition.
“In the past he was the name on the team sheet we knew his goals were critical. There is now more competition there but I will expect him to respond.
“He’s not been happy with this season at his club this year, the part he has to get right this summer is his physical fitness and I would expect him to be flying next year.
“If we have all of those players available when we need them then that’s brilliant but it rarely happens.”
Southgate also expects an unexpected push from a left field angle from someone ahead of the Euros. This camp has been about Trent Alexander-Arnold ’s emergence as an option in midfield.
Other top nations do use players in different positions from their clubs – Joshua Kimmich being an obvious example and he is by no means the first for Germany – and do not face the same levels of scepticism or criticism from club managers.
But Southgate is enjoying the new questions and dilemmas being thrown his way as he believes it will keep the rest of the squad on their toes.
Southgate added: “I’ve been in football a long time. We’ve got to keep other people feeling important within the squad. I think we’d be foolish to give anybody that status, that feel, that half a percent that might cause them to take a step back. Football doesn’t work like that.
“We’ve got to keep pushing. The biggest thing we have to do is keep pushing this team. The mentality that somebody like Jordan Henderson showed to regain, to drive the team, that’s key.
“All of a sudden we’ve got another midfield player that is going to add something completely different. That dynamic in midfield, all of a sudden there’s potentially an extra player in there who might not have thought they’d be there. We have to keep looking for those things.
“Trent’s an exceptional player for Liverpool in whatever position he plays. The most pleasing thing for me is that he has probably had his most enjoyable England camp ever. He’s desperate to be a part of the team, he has shown everybody what he can do in that role.
“I felt that way for a long time but when he is not doing those things regularly it is harder to transfer. His performances have spoken for themselves.”
