Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka says his England call-up left him lost for words after he rounded off a dream week by scoring his first goal at Emirates Stadium in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
The 19-year-old, who is a product of Arsenal’s academy, was called up by England manager Gareth Southgate last week following a strong start to this season.
Saka, who is expected to operate at left wing-back for England, has carried on his fine form from last season into this one and was on the scoresheet on Sunday.
The teenager scored Arsenal’s opening goal – and his first at home – as they ran out 2-1 winners over Sheffield United, with Nicolas Pepe adding the second before David McGoldrick’s late strike sparked fears of a comeback.
It ended a dream week for Saka, who is now hoping to make his England debut when the Three Lions host Wales, Belgium and Denmark over the next 10 days.
“Words can't really describe how proud I am, how happy I am and how excited I am to go tomorrow [with England],” said Saka.
“I'm going to go home, celebrate a little with my family and then pack my bags to get away early tomorrow morning.
“It's been a really special week with the call-up, going through to the next round of the Carabao Cup and now getting the win again and scoring the goal. I'm so happy with this week and I'm just hoping that I can continue to have weeks like this going forward.”
The victory means Arsenal have made a strong start to the season, winning three of their opening four Premier League games to sit fourth in the table.
They had to battle hard on Sunday, though, with Sheffield United frustrating them for over an hour before Saka broke the deadlock.
“Sheffield made it really difficult for us,” he said. “We knew - and we analysed them before - how hard it would be.
“They're so physical and play five at the back so make it so compact. It's hard to break down but we managed to do it in the end.
“They were a difficult team for us to beat last year and today they made it hard for us again. But in the second half we came out with so much more intensity, so much more pace that they couldn't handle us.”
