Arsenal: 3 reasons Bukayo Saka should start for England vs Germany

2. Tactically, Bukayo Saka Suits What England Need

Opting to stick with a back four in each of the three Euro 2020 group games, it would be uncharacteristically risky of Southgate to revert to a back three on Tuesday. Even if the shape would match that which Joachim Low utilises, making that adjustment mid-tournament is ill-advised.

In the 4-2-3-1, Saka on the right would provide the ideal weapon to expose the space Robin Gosens vacates at left wing-back in Germany’s 3-4-3 setup.

The Atalanta defender is effectively a winger for club and country, aided by Antonio Rudiger in behind him who is no slouch.

Gosens will look to pin Saka and whoever plays at right-back deep into their own half, always seeking the overlap or space to have a shot. He will want to spend at little of his time as he can in his own third of the pitch.

Boasting such an intelligent reading of the game, Saka understands the concept of space: he knows where it is, where it will be available and he knows which runs to make to exploit those areas. While it might take a few minutes to suss out Gosens’ patterns – some pre-match work will help with this – once he’s absorbed the field of play the movements into dangerous areas can be explosive.

When England do have the ball high up they need someone with excellent ball retention to sustain those attacks – and presumably win fouls as per the mantra – which adds more emphasis on Saka’s inclusion.

If used properly against Germany, Saka can be England’s biggest attacking outlet down that side.