Bukayo Saka: England's Key Player Struggling with Fitness
Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a club finally gets its hands back on a crown it has chased for a generation. He was at the heart of Arsenal’s long-awaited title triumph in north London, a 22-year wait snapped amid a blur of noise, colour and catharsis. He then carried that momentum onto the biggest stage of all, starting the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain before the night turned cruel in a penalty shootout.
That is the level he operates at when his body allows it. That is the problem now.
England’s trump card, wrapped in cotton wool
For Mikel Arteta, Saka is non-negotiable when fully fit. For England, he is supposed to be the same. Yet his Achilles keeps dragging him back to earth.
The issue has followed him into this World Cup. Saka reported for duty with Gareth Southgate’s squad still nursing the long-standing problem, and it has already shaped England’s opening steps in North America. He started the tournament on the bench against Croatia, watching as Arsenal team-mate Noni Madueke took his place on the right flank.
He has not yet taken a full part in training ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Ghana. While the rest of the squad went through their drills outside, Saka stayed indoors, working through an individual programme, the medical staff measuring every stride.
The talent is not in doubt. The question is how much of it England can actually use.
Barnes: “It’s his fitness”
John Barnes has seen enough wingers to know when one is special. Asked whether Saka still sits among England’s automatic picks in their hunt for global glory, the former wide man did not hesitate to identify the hinge on which everything turns.
“It's his fitness. I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it's his fitness,” Barnes told GOAL, speaking in association with viagogo and their ‘World Cuts’ campaign.
“Madueke is fit, so therefore he may be ahead of him at that particular moment in time. So, obviously, Thomas Tuchel will know how fit he is, how much he can influence games. We know the quality he actually has, so I think it's really just down to his fitness. And I don't know how fit he is, how many games he's had, whether Madueke is ahead of him. From a form perspective or a quality perspective, we can see what he can do. So I think his fitness is the biggest issue as to whether he starts for England or not.”
The numbers back up the sense of a stop-start year. Saka finished last season with 11 goals in all competitions, only seven of them in the Premier League. For a 24-year-old of his standing, those figures invite scrutiny.
Barnes, though, refuses to reduce his impact to a column on a spreadsheet.
Goals, glory and the bigger picture
“His goal output doesn't have to be great if they win the league. And if England wins the World Cup, he doesn't score one goal, it's not important. What's important is him being part of a team that can win,” Barnes said.
He pushed the point further, widening the lens to take in the whole of England’s attack.
“Once again, I don't think Thomas Tuchel is looking at individual numbers because if he scores more and Marcus Rashford scores more, you know what that means? Harry Kane will score less.
“So it's about the way you play to create for other people to score. I don't think he'll worry about his goal-scoring form, because it's not about the individual and what he does. If he can be part of a team and help that team to win, then I'm sure his lack of goals isn't going to be an issue.
“It's to do with how the team performs, to create chances for maybe Jude Bellingham and for Harry Kane to score, for them to work hard as a team, to be creative, and yes, they may score the odd goal. So he's looking at the way the team plays, rather than how any individual performs, Thomas Tuchel, which is the right thing to do.”
The message is clear. Saka’s worth lies in the way he knits attacks together, drags defenders out of shape, and tilts the pitch in England’s favour. The end product can come from others.
But to do any of that, he has to be on the pitch.
Tuchel plays the long game
Thomas Tuchel has already nailed his colours to the mast on that front. He wants Saka, but he wants him for the duration, not just for a group-stage burst that ends in another grim scan and a plane home.
Tuchel eased him in against Croatia, sending him on from the bench. Saka responded in the way he usually does: by changing the rhythm of the game. He played a leading role in the move that ended with Marcus Rashford putting the gloss on a 4-2 win, a reminder of how quickly he can influence a contest.
Afterwards, Tuchel chose his words carefully.
“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready. I think once we go to the last game of this group he will be ready,” the England manager said.
That line revealed the plan. Build him up. Don’t break him.
The schedule will test that resolve. Ghana on Tuesday, then Panama in the final Group L fixture on Saturday. Saka was the only player missing from the latest full training session, a conspicuous absentee as Tuchel’s players sharpened up on the grass.
England hope to be here for the long haul. They also hope their most gifted right winger is still standing when the tournament truly bites.
By the time Panama arrive, will Saka be unleashed from the start, or still wrapped in caution as England balance risk, reward and the fragile Achilles of a player they can scarcely do without?
