Bukayo Saka defends his misfiring England team-mates as Arsenal star opens up on extent of his injury nightmare ahead of Senegal test

At a time when England focus is narrowing towards a journey to America next summer, Bukayo Saka is able to introduce a dose of perspective.

It was not that long ago that the height of the Arsenal player’s ambition was to move from an armchair to the Christmas dinner table before his food went cold.

Saka will make his first start for Thomas Tuchel’s England against Senegal in Nottingham on Tuesday evening having recovered from a hamstring tear that ruined the second half of his domestic season.

With an enforced lay-off has become a fresh and different approach to his life and football, according to the 23-year-old. Lying on a surgeon’s table at 5am on Christmas Eve can do that to a player.

‘It was Christmas and the surgeons wanted to be with their families so I had to do it at that time,’ Saka recalled.

‘Credit to the surgeon — he got up early to do it. I was out of the hospital at about 4pm and home. Christmas Day, I went to my cousin’s house but I was in a big brace and had crutches.

‘I had to get my presents brought to me which I know doesn’t sound the worse thing!

‘When everyone got up to go to the dining room, it took me about ten minutes to get there. Little things like that. It was just very painful to get up.

‘I had gone from five years playing straight football. Then everything stops. You are on crutches, in hospital and need help around the house for the first few weeks.

‘In those periods it is a real test mentally and then it is about the days in the gym, whether you want to work or not, on the pitch when it is raining and you are on your own with the physios and need to put in the extra run and extra effort.

‘It is about how much you want it, and I wanted it a lot.’

Saka is sitting in a small room at St George’s Park. To his right, there is a large photograph on the wall of him celebrating one of his twelve England goals.

On Tuesday at the City Ground he will be part of a national team with some making up to do. He was not involved against Andorra as England laboured to a 1-0 win in Barcelona on Saturday but has heard the noise that has followed.

Even Tuchel questioned the England players’ attitude after the game and that led us to ask Saka why it is that this version of the national team seems to play better against more high-profile opposition such as the Netherlands (in the last Euros), Italy (twice in qualifying) and France — despite losing (at the last World Cup).

‘It’s a good question and I can’t answer for every player but naturally in the bigger games everyone is going to give a bit more,’ he admits.

‘In these other games we need to find a level where we can maintain that same quality and drive and hunger for the whole game.

‘It’s not easy at times but we need to find that and get these games over the line.

‘I think the expectation is to win, rather than entertain. If you can have both, then perfect. But we feel more the expectation is to win rather than to entertain.

‘Managers in the past — and now Thomas — have been trying to work on the cohesion, that chemistry, trying to get us to play good football.

‘At the end of the day, as players we just want to win. The fans want the same as well. That’s the most important thing this country needs right now.’

Winning may well be a sensitive subject at Saka’s club this summer after another season of great promise ended with nothing tangible to hold.

Saka admits with a slight grimace that he watched Tottenham’s Europa League final win on TV — ‘It’s the way it was, isn’t it? — and that it hurt watching other clubs from London — such as Crystal Palace in the FA Cup — lift major silverware.

‘Yes of course, naturally,’ he says.

‘Because you want that to be you.’

Dwelling on the past serves as little purpose to Saka as it does to England right now, however, and the young winger has had a little help with all of that.

‘I like reading and when I was injured I got more time to read a couple of non-fiction books,’ he says.

‘One of the books I was given by Carlos Cuesta [Arsenal coach] was called: “The Power of Now”.

‘It’s a really good book. It’s about not thinking about the past, not thinking about the future.

‘Just being in the moment and always asking yourself what’s necessary right now.

‘Sometimes I could think: “Oh, am I going to come back in the best shape?” Or: “What could I have done to prevent injury?”

‘But all that is not necessary. It’s only going to bring bad energy, negativity to your body.’

One victim of Saka’s injury lay-off was his cockapoo Tucker who arrived as a puppy while he was incapacitated.

‘He’s a puppy and I couldn’t really get after him,’ he laughs.

‘But it was a good experience. It was funny.’

As part of Tuchel’s leadership group, Saka was one of the first players to take a call from his new England manager after his appointment last autumn. He has had to wait a while to get going.

‘Yeh he reached out to me and spoke to me about where he sees me in this group and my responsibilities,’ he says.

‘I wasn’t able to be at the first camp and didn’t play the first game this time but hopefully I can be involved this week and get off to a good start under him.

‘This is all about being a team, playing as a team, getting that chemistry going, learning lessons in these qualifiers so when the World Cup comes we’re ready for anything.

‘Sometimes countries do come and just defend. It’s up to us to find a breakthrough. Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes the reaction is a bit over analysed on our performances and sometimes it’s justified.

‘The main point and the main thing we’re thinking about is winning. That’s what matters’