Euro 2020: 3 tasks for Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka in England vs Italy final

It’s here. The big day. The biggest day of all. England will face Italy at Wembley in the final of the 2020 European Championships. The hopes of a nation rest on this talented ensemble – and one of them is likely to be the Arsenal player of the year, Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal have a magnificent global fanbase. Supporters from all walks of life whose love for the football club is as strong as the next. Yet many of the non-English fans probably want England to lose, like, well, most of the world. It’s to be expected. Bukayo Saka may change a few minds, though.

With the continent taking notice of just how magnificent this young man is, doubters over his suitability in a squad brimming with attacking talent have had to rethink: he was man of the match against the Czech Republic, influential against Germany and offered a vital intervention against Denmark.

Just because it’s a club that may not be able to lure the best players to north London any more or lay claim to being deserving of a ‘top six’ tag in the Premier League doesn’t mean it isn’t blessed with talent.

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Euro 2020: 3 tasks for Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka in England vs Italy final with Gareth Southgate likely to start 19-year-old in Wembley showpiece

Ahead of the biggest game in the lives of almost all of the players taking to the pitch for Sunday’s final, it appears as if Saka will get the nod from the start.

Phil Foden was among the candidates to take up the right-sided role against Italy but having not trained on the Saturday after picking up a knock, his chances have been drastically slimmed. The other options in that position are Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, with neither set to usurp the star boy from the lineup.

Sancho is an outrageously talented forward yet he has started just once this Euros campaign – when Saka was injured – and for continuity is unlikely to be given the nod. As for Rashford, some pundits called for his inclusion but it would be a bizarre and foolish decision from Southgate to unsettle his team with someone who has been limited to five late substitute appearances, regardless of his ability.

It looks for all the world as if Saka will be handed the formidable task of finding a way through an Italian side without defeat in their last 33 matches. They’ve got a couple of blokes in central defence who aren’t too bad either.

There are three key roles for him to play, even if he doesn’t start, that there is every faith in him to carry out.

1. Work With Kyle Walker to Limit Lorenzo Insigne’s Threat

Italy are a team who know well in advance what it is they need to do. Every motion, phase and passage of play is stored neatly away into a mental filing cabinet for the players to flick through at the time of asking and carry out.

In other words, Roborrto Mancini knows how to drill his teams (so definitely not sorry for that).

When they attack it’s where Lorenzo Insigne is able to come alive. Starting out on the left wing, the support he receives from his full-back is essential to allowing him to move into the half-space where he is most dangerous.

Fortunately for England, Leonardo Spinazzola’s intelligence in his role helped them click but his Achilles injury has ruled him out. The job will fall on Emerson’s shoulders and while not as reliable, he will nonetheless look to provide that width.

Saka has to be alert to his danger. Him playing over other options in the position is due to his stronger defensive qualities, and there will come moments – probably long and excruciating periods – where he will have to operate almost as a wing-back to Kyle Walker.

A full-back should never be caught running too far infield but a strong line of communication is going to be needed between him and Saka to know who covers who when Italy are in the final third. Kalvin Phillips has had an excellent tournament and his understanding of space and when to press is vital, and that trio have to be at full focus to nullify Insigne’s threat and Nico Barella’s tendency to wander into one of the five lanes of attack.

Saka will have to drop into a defensive half-space as well as an attacking one on Sunday and nothing other than total understanding between him, Walker and Phillips will suffice.

When the going does get tough you need players who won’t hide. Saka never does. Against Denmark when under the cosh, the youngster always showed for the ball, never crumbled under the occasion. He’ll be doing that again.