Ian Wright has added to his somewhat controversial opinion on Arsenal star Bukayo Saka playing at left-back for England after Tuesday’s draw against Slovenia.
The north London legend made the suggestion on live TV, after the Three Lions ended their Euro 2024 group stage with another poor performance, with England progressing to the round of 16 of the competition top, setting up a tie with Slovakia.
With Luke Shaw still injured, Kieran Trippier has played as a makeshift left-back for England to uninspiring results, with Gary Neville also suggesting that Saka could be used in the position, having played there before during his teenage years for Arsenal and under Gareth Southgate.
And Wright has now explained his thinking behind the controversial idea of Saka playing at left-back.
Saka’s left-footedness makes Arsenal star ideal candidate to play left-back
Speaking on Wrighty’s House, the Arsenal legend claimed that Saka’s previous experience in the position coupled with how natural he is on his left-foot makes the 22-year-old ideal to play the role, though the pundit did also say the idea came to him in a flash whilst live on air.
Wright said about his suggestion on playing Saka at left-back for England: “The thing I have to address is the thing over Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer. My biggest issue for me with all of this, and I didn’t even realise it was a big issue, the idea was like PING.
READ MORE: Everything to know on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka from his age, parents and house
“Obviously, Saka with his unbelievable stats for England and trying to get Cole Palmer into the team, who had a brilliant cameo. And I only said we could put Saka on the left is because he’s played there, he made his debut there for England, he made his debut there for Arsenal, so he knows how to do it.
“The thing is, I’m trying to solve the problem what our manager has brought on us, which is bringing Luke Shaw as a left-back who’s only played 15 games this season, and in his wisdom not bringing another left-back. We have three left-footers in our team, but only one can actually play on the left, so why you’re on there [live TV], you’re thinking out loud about solutions.”
Saka at left-back might not be the worst idea in the world
Wright’s comments, at the time, led to a flurry of outraged Arsenal fans unfairly attacking the north London legend, yet with the dust now settled and the idea actually put into thought, Saka playing at left-back wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for England.
Yes, the Three Lions might lose one of their best-attacking outlets, but replacing Saka for Palmer to ensure that the left-back position is well covered whilst Shaw recovers could be more important to England than sticking with Trippier.
Indeed, Southgate have a real shot of making a second consecutive Euros final given the side of the bracket England ended up on, and Saka could be up for playing in the left-back position if it means finally winning international silverware with the Three Lions.
Arsenal stars in Marbella whilst Saka struggles at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed England’s recent poor performances at the European Championships. With Arsenal players Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka receiving mixed reviews for England so far, Gareth Southgate’s tactical decisions were questioned.
There was some talk about the members of the Arsenal squad currently on a surprise training camp with Mikel Arteta in Marbella, as well as a brief look at how Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli are getting on at the Copa America with Brazil.