Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka handed maiden England call up

Arsenal defender Bukayo Saka has been handed their first senior England call-up. Saka, 19, has featured just three times for Arsenal during this campaign but broke into the first-team and impressed while playing at full-back for the Gunners last season. With Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang now largely dominating the left-flank, Saka has been limited to just three appearances for Arsenal so far this season. Saka took to social media to express his delight at earning a spot in Gareth Southgate's latest squad, writing: "Honoured and grateful to get my first England call up!" https://www.instagram.com/p/CFzYNoaho_i/?utm_source=ig_embed When asked whether he had to convince Saka about his international future on the back of his previous comments, England manager Gareth Southgate said: “I’ve not talked specifically to Bukayo about that. “I think so many of our players are eligible for dual-nationality, sometimes more than two countries.” After his breakthrough into the Arsenal first team last season, Southgate was full of praise for what the 19-year-old could bring to the table. “We have been impressed with his progress through our system and I thought at times last year for Arsenal he was really exciting,” he said. England play Wales in a friendly at Wembley on October 8 before hosting Belgium and Denmark in Nations League matches on October 11 and October 14.