Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed on Twitter that he is ‘confused’ as to why Arsenal winger, Bukayo Saka, played as a left-sided fullback for England.
Whilst Saka started his Arsenal career as a left-back, the 21-year-old, in recent times, has thrived under Mikel Arteta as a right-winger.
But during England’s 1-0 defeat against Italy in the UEFA Nations League on Friday night, the under-fire Gareth Southgate made a number of calls that left fans baffled.
From selecting and then starting Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire, despite his struggles at club level to using Saka as a left wing-back.
To perhaps no one’s surprise, it was another lacklustre display in Italy from the Three Lions and not ideal preparation ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
But with Saka playing out of position, that call was rightfully questioned by former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor, who was left ‘confused’ by it all.
DEAR SOUTHGATE, PLAY SAKA AT RIGHT WING
Ben White is a man in-form, playing at right-back this season for Arsenal, yet Southgate opted to leave him at home despite the abject form of Maguire.
The England boss could rightfully argue that he’s not picked the player because he has been producing the goods as a right-back, and not a centre-back, which is fair enough.
But, if that was the case, then Saka wouldn’t be playing out of position for his country, would he? Nor would Kyle Walker, who only seems to play as a right-sided of a back three for England.
Saka is a superb talent, as he proved at Euro 2020, and since then, he has gone up a few levels, so just play him as a right-winger, then perhaps you can get the best out of his talents and not drain another top talent.
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