England manager Thomas Tuchel has challenged winger Bukayo Saka to find a way to translate his electric Arsenal form over on to the international scene.
Saka netted in Thursday’s comfortable 3–0 friendly win over Wales to take his goal tally for England to 13 goals in 45 games, becoming Arsenal’s leading scorer in Three Lions history in the process.
Tuchel was made aware of this accomplishment after the final whistle, but the England boss was not impressed with that return from a player who has exceeded that goal tally across three of his last four seasons with Arsenal.
“How many goals did he score for England?” Tuchel clarified. “13? One three? It has to be more, it’s not enough.
“He needs to keep on going. I thought it was 30, at least, and then I would have said it’s not enough, because I am never satisfied. He is such a threat for Arsenal in the most difficult league in the world, so why would he not be at international level?
“We have the position for him, he has the attitude, the stamina, the talent, everything to be a top player at international level, and that’s what he has to show. We can just encourage him to be influential, like he was today. Next game, he needs to try to repeat it.”
Saka Feeling Good After Injury Return
Saka has been forced to accept a slow start to the season with Arsenal after picking up a hamstring injury which sidelined him for three games across all competitions. Mikel Arteta’s refusal to rush him back into action, having seen a hamstring injury also strike the winger down in March, has limited Saka to just five starts so far this year.
“I started this season by picking up an injury, which kind of killed me a bit but I’m starting to feel good again," he told reporters.
“I’m still not at my sharpest but I’m starting to feel good again and I’ve scored in the last three games so I’m happy with that and want to continue like that.
“I’ve missed a lot of England games, especially under Thomas as well and I haven’t scored for a while either so to come back and put the ball in the back of the net is a special feeling and one I’m really excited about.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Not Enough’—Bukayo Saka Set Tough Challenge After Record-Breaking England Goal.
