Cliff Notes – Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka agrees he should score more for England
- Bukayo Saka acknowledges Thomas Tuchel’s challenge to increase his goal tally for England, agreeing that 30 goals would be a more fitting target.
- After surpassing Cliff Bastin as Arsenal’s top goalscorer for England, Saka emphasises the importance of improvement and progression in his game.
- With World Cup qualification secured, Saka expresses excitement about the upcoming tournament, highlighting the need to maintain form for selection.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka agrees he should score more for England
Bukayo Saka said he agrees with Thomas Tuchel’s assessment that he needs to score more goals for England.
The winger became Arsenal’s highest goalscorer for England when he bagged in the 3-0 friendly win over Wales, but Tuchel expressed surprise that it was only his 13th goal for his country in 46 appearances.
He said 30 goals would be a better mark as he laid down the gauntlet to the 24-year-old who regularly finds the net for Arsenal.
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Asked what he thought of the German’s comments, he said to TalkSPORT: “I 100 percent agree with him. So, yeah, let’s go for more.
“I think just being on the pitch is enough. In the England shirt, you have players of immense quality who can create chances, who can score chances.
“So just being on the pitch for me I think is enough. It’s up to me, the manager, the coaching staff, they create the perfect game plan for us to be ourselves, show our best qualities and express ourselves. So, yeah, it’s up to me.”
That goal against Wales saw Saka overtake Gunners great Cliff Bastin as Arsenal’s top goalscorer for England.
Bukayo Saka has been challenged to find the back of the net more in an England shirt. Sebastian Frej/Getty Images
“I don’t really think too much of these records,” Saka added on BBC Radio 5 Live. “I feel like the trophies is more what I think about.
“But when I do take a step back and think about how much of a great achievement that is, obviously to be the top scorer for Arsenal for England, it’s amazing.
“All the players that we’ve had in the past, so I’m doing something well and I need to continue.
“But of course, at the same time there’s always room to improve and progress, which I’m looking to do.”
England already have World Cup qualification in the bag heading into the final two qualifiers against Serbia and Albania this week.
This November camp and March’s friendlies will be used for preparation towards a tilt at winning in North America next summer.
Saka called the global showpiece a “beautiful” tournament.
“Of course, it’s always in the back of your mind,” he added. “Even though it does feel like it’s far away, you know it’s going to come quickly and the World Cup is beautiful.
“It’s one of the biggest tournaments that exists and everyone wants to be involved.
“It’s just about trying to stay in good shape, keep in good form and try to make sure that you try and get selected and you’re able to be involved in the World Cup because it’s something that you know doesn’t happen a lot, so you have to enjoy those things.”
Information from PA was used in this report.