Bukayo Saka: Arsenal Star's Journey Through Injury and England's World Cup Hopes
Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a club and a city lose themselves in a title. North London did exactly that.
He was at the heart of it as Arsenal finally dragged the Premier League trophy back to their corner of the capital for the first time in 22 years, a homegrown star threaded through a champion side. He then walked out on the biggest stage of all, starting the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, only to watch the night dissolve into penalty-shootout pain.
That double life – club hero, continental nearly man – now feeds into a third role: England’s wounded trump card.
A star wrapped in caution
There is no argument about Saka’s importance to Mikel Arteta when his body co-operates. The problem is, it hasn’t often enough. A nagging Achilles issue has stalked him for months, flaring again just as England’s World Cup campaign began.
When the Three Lions opened against Croatia, Saka was not the one tearing down the right. He was in a tracksuit, on the bench, while his Arsenal team-mate Noni Madueke took the starting berth. Saka has yet to take a full part in training in the build-up to Tuesday’s meeting with Ghana, the medical staff still managing every step and sprint.
The debate around him is no longer about talent. It is about trust in his body.
Former England winger John Barnes, speaking to GOAL in association with viagogo’s “World Cuts” campaign, cut straight to it: “It's his fitness. I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it's his fitness.
“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.”
That is the calculation now: not who is better on paper, but who can be trusted to go full tilt in a tournament that punishes any weakness.
Goals, glory and the bigger picture
The injury interruptions left their mark on the numbers. Saka finished last season with 11 goals in all competitions, only seven of them in the Premier League. For a wide forward of his stature, those figures invite scrutiny.
Barnes is unmoved.
“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,” he said.
That is the lens through which he believes Tuchel will judge the Arsenal man.
“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.”
In other words, Saka is not being weighed against a spreadsheet. He is being judged on whether he makes England harder to play against, more dangerous, more complete.
Tuchel’s slow release
Tuchel has already shown his hand: England will not gamble with Saka. Not yet.
The winger came off the bench against Croatia and immediately reminded everyone why the conversation is so charged. He was heavily involved in the move that ended with Marcus Rashford scoring England’s fourth in a 4-2 win, drifting into pockets, drawing defenders, creating chaos.
Afterwards, Tuchel struck a careful note. “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.”
That is the plan. Ease him in. Stretch the muscle memory without snapping anything.
For now, though, caution still rules. Over the weekend, as England prepared for Ghana, every outfield player trained together on the grass – except Saka. He stayed inside, working through an individual programme while his team-mates sharpened up outside.
The Panama question
All of this builds towards one decision. England face Panama in their final Group L fixture on Saturday. Tuchel hinted that by the last group game Saka “will be ready”. Ready for what, exactly?
Ready to start and run a defence ragged? Ready for 30 minutes off the bench? Ready simply to be there if something goes wrong?
England want a long stay in North America. They see Saka as part of that journey, not a short-term fix. The medical staff are treating him like a player they expect to lean on when the stakes rise and the margins shrink.
For now, the picture is simple and brutal: Madueke is fully fit and flying. Saka is edging back, step by step, indoors while the rest of the squad goes full throttle outside.
At some point in this tournament, Tuchel will have to decide whether a fully fit deputy is worth more than a slightly patched-up star who can change the shape of a game in a single run. That moment may arrive as early as Panama.
