Bukayo Saka has had his first taste of life under Thomas Tuchel over the last few days, having missed the first England camp through injury, and has lifted the lid on what the new era is like.
The Arsenal star was absent on Saturday for the clash with Andorra in Spain, having suffered a slight strain in the Gunners’ final game of the season, a 2-1 win over already-relegated Southampton.
However, he has now been told, along with the assembled media, that he will start Tuesday’s friendly clash with Senegal, and finally get his chance to show Tuchel what he can do in an England shirt.
He comes in after the Three Lions received heavy backlash following a drab 1-0 win over Andorra, captain Harry Kane netting his record-extending 72nd England goal to prevent an embarrassing draw.
‘After the last game of the season I had a little strain. Fair play to England, they managed me well. The manager left me out and said I will play tomorrow,’ Saka said at England’s press conference on Monday.
‘I don’t really like to compare [former boss Gareth Southgate and new manager Tuchel] if I’m honest, you know one person’s qualities are always going to be overshadowed.
Bukayo Saka is set to start against Senegal in his first appearance under Thomas Tuchel
Tuchel has overseen three wins and three clean sheets since taking over as England boss
However the Three Lions’ most recent outing was a 1-0 win over Andorra which drew criticism
‘If I just speak about Thomas himself, since I’ve come into the camp I guess he’s been quite demanding and quite intense on the pitch and off the pitch he’s more relaxed, nice guy, let’s us enjoy ourselves and created a nice environment.’
England came under fire for their performance against Andorra, however it was their third successive clean sheet win to kick off the Tuchel era.
It may not be the goal fest that many might have expected, but it still represents a strong start for Tuchel, in his first international post with an almost completely new set of players he has never worked with.
The return of Saka, though, is a huge boost, with the winger one of the most dynamic, agile and adept dribblers in the game.
‘I’m very excited, because I could see that he worked hard to come back from his injury. He had minor discomfort in his last match which worried me a bit,’ Tuchel said of the Arsenal forward on Monday.
‘He just had one training session with us, a full session and one half on Thursday and Friday.
‘We decided in the end to protect him a little bit, to not let him play, to not take any risk. But he is happy, he trained with a smile yesterday. He will start tomorrow, he is a key player for us.’
Saka is one of three Arsenal players in the England squad, along with Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has had a real breakout campaign for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Saka is joined in the England squad by Arsenal team-mates Myles Lewis-Skelly (left) and Declan Rice (right)
Lewis-Skelly made his England debut against Albania at Wembley earlier this year, and within 20 minutes he had his first goal, opening the scoring in the first half.
Naturally, then, Saka was asked about his club and country team-mate and whether he can make the No 3 shirt his own for the 2026 World Cup.
‘I don’t know, I think it is early, but you know me, I can only say positive things about Myles. I have seen his journey as he has come through and he’s a top talent.
‘He’s got a good mentality as well, lots of confidence and that’s why I believe he can come here and play the way he does.
‘Big credit to him, I just hope he keeps progressing and keeps improving. It’s exciting to see what the future holds for him.’
