Bukayo Saka sends message to England boss ahead of crucial team selection | OneFootball

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has told England boss Gareth Southgate that he will take his opportunity to shine in the first-team.

The Three Lions boss has some tough decisions to make on his starting line-up for our crunch clash with Croatia on Sunday, with many believing this could well decide who tops the group.

The two sides met at the World Cup in 2018, when our side went down 2-1 in the semi-finals, but we have had an influx of exciting young players integrated into the squad since, and the hype is building around our chances this summer.

One of those young talents is Arsenal’s Saka, and he is sending out a message to his manager, insisting he will take his chance if it is given to him.

“It is going to be a really difficult thing to pick the starting XI, of course” Saka said in the build-up to the weekend’s match with Croatia at Wembley. “With the amount of quality we have in this team, I don’t know what holds for the starting team in the first, second, third game, but all I know is that if I get my opportunity, I’ll take it.

“I’ll give a positive performance and have a chance of getting in the team. That’s the same for all the other players.”

I’m assuming that Saka isn’t in contention to start the opening match, with more experienced players likely to get the nod, but I firmly believe that the manager will be looking at giving him a run out off the bench, and I fully expect him to show what he has got.

Could Saka be in contention to start on Sunday?

Patrick