Mertesacker 'really proud' of Saka's progress after Switzerland victory

Per Mertesacker hails Bukayo Saka's strength after scoring a penalty for England after the Euro 2020 'horrors'

Transcript

00:00I think the trust from Gareth Southgate into his players has been massive for each individual player.

00:09Everyone was predicting Bukayo Saka to play on the left wing-back,

00:14but instead he kept him playing on that right wing,

00:17where he had been so successful over the years with Arsenal.

00:21You see what can happen with trust and sticking to the principles.

00:25When you see Foden and Bukayo doing more combinations on the right side,

00:31you saw the spark in the England game,

00:34so I'm hoping they continue to play those two more on the right wing,

00:38because them coming in on the left foot can show up with world-class moments.

00:42I think the trust in his players has been really good.

00:47England slowly build up momentum, which can be a defining factor going into the final.

00:54And then just the strength of Bukayo Saka to score another penalty

01:00with the horrendous kind of scenes and experience from three years ago.

01:04You have to give England and Bukayo a lot of credit,

01:07and actually me coming from Arsenal being really proud of his progress.

01:11He seems to show up in big moments, and that's what impresses me.