England's Bukayo Saka keen to improve his numbers
Bukayo Saka is planning for a big season for club and country as he aims to get even better after retaining his crown as England men’s player of the year.
The Arsenal forward has been in fine form across last season and into the new campaign, earning him the PFA Young Player of the Year award before fans voted for him to hold onto the title as England’s best player for a second year.
Saka, who turned 22 on Tuesday, has scored seven goals in 10 appearances for England in the last 12 months, including three at the 2022 World Cup and a hat-trick in a 7-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over North Macedonia in June.
His figures for Arsenal have been equally as impressive, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists as the Gunners finished second in the Premier League last season.
With two goals and an assist to his name just four games into the new campaign and the carrot of Euro 2024 next summer, Saka now wants to continue his progression as a key player for both Arsenal and England.
Asked if his target is to improve on his numbers this year, he replied: “Yes, 100 per-cent. I’m always looking to improve and progress each season. So, I’m definitely aiming for more this year.
“I think it’s about commitment, you know, commitment to being better so obviously, it requires me to do a lot of things in terms of listening, watching clips, training hard every day, putting in the extra work to try and keep progressing.
“I’ve got my head down, worked harder, and set myself some targets and goals to achieve and just went from there and strived to achieved them – each year, I try to keep progressing and getting better.”
Saka, who beat Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane into second and third place respectively in the vote for England’s player of the year accolade, revealed his father is currently in the process of framing the match-ball from the memorable night against North Macedonia.
Despite a productive season with England and Arsenal, Saka ultimately ended the year with no silverware but believes things are shaping up nicely on both fronts to make sure that does not happen this time around.
“I think definitely year on year I’ve come close to achieving something big,” he added.
“This year, we’re definitely closer as a team, Arsenal and England, so I’m looking forward to this year, it is an exciting year ahead.”
