
Gabriel Martinelli has congratulated his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka on Instagram after he was called up to the England squad for the first time.
The 19-year-old reacted to the news on Instagram by stating that he is ‘honoured’ and ‘grateful’ by the exciting news.
A number of current and ex-players responded to his message, with Martinelli writing: ‘Yessss brother’ added with fire emojis.
Former Chelsea man Mario Melchiot also responded by simply saying: ‘Great player’, whilst Dortmund star, Jude Bellingham simply wrote: ‘Congrats broo’.
This is a deserved call-up for Saka, who has perhaps been the biggest success story ever since Arteta walked through the doors of Arsenal in North London back in December.
Whilst Saka was doing bits under Unai Emery, he has taken his game to another level and added more consistency to his game under Arteta.
At first, a lot of his success was coming in the Europa League, but that quickly transcended into the Premier League and he is now a player with endless amounts of potential.
It will be interesting to see where Gareth Southgate uses Saka because he can play at left-back, out wide and through the middle.
But it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is used at left-back given England’s lack of options in that area.
Not forgetting that Ainsley Maitland-Niles was used in a full-back role when he earned his maiden call last time out.
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