Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka lauds Chelsea star for his performance on international duty
Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has labeled Chelsea star Reece James a 'balla' on Instagram following England's 3-3 UEFA Nations League draw against Germany on Monday (September 26), as per HITC.
After the match, the Blues right-back posted a picture of himself in an England shirt. Saka commented 'Balla', which probably means 'baller' while Jude Bellingham called him a 'machine'. The post from James can be viewed below:
The Three Lions were relegated from their Nations League group after a 1-0 loss to Italy on September 23. The game against the Germans - the last of the group stages - was technically a dead rubber with nothing at stake for either side.
However, much was expected from England considering this was their last game before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in November. After a drab first half, Die Mannschaft grabbed a quick-fire double courtesy of an Ilkay Gundogan penalty and a Kai Havertz screamer from outside the box.
Saka, along with Mason Mount, was introduced as a substitute just one minute before the former Bayer Leverkusen star's goal. James started England's comeback in the 71st minute when he assisted Luke Shaw's goal.
Saka and Mount then combined to perfection which resulted in the latter hitting a stunning first-time shot past Germany's Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The comeback was thought to have been complete when Harry Kane buried an unsavable penalty past the Barcelona shot-stopper in the 82nd minute.
4/4 - Harry Kane has scored in all four of his England games against Germany, while it’s the joint most appearances one player has made against a specific opponent for the Three Lions while scoring in every game. Reliable. https://t.co/YfXNP4hIgD
However, Nick Pope's butterfingers resulted in a tap-in for Havertz in the dying embers of the match. The Three Lions ended their Nations League campaign with no wins in six matches while Italy topped the group with 11 points.
Arsenal and Chelsea explored the possibility of signing Villarreal star this summer
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur showed an interest in signing Villarreal's Pau Torres in the recently-concluded transfer window.
However, the trio were ultimately put off by the player's bloated price tag, which was in the region of €40-45 million. Torres has less than two years remaining on his contract with the Yellow Submarine.
In his column for CaughtOffside, Romano wrote:
"Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham also explored this possibility but didn’t want to spend €40-45m. I think it’s a very good opportunity on the market; he has experience, quality, left-footed… a very good CB."
Chelsea signed Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly to bolster their defensive ranks this summer after losing Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen on free transfers.
For Arsenal, William Saliba's return from his loan spell at Olympique de Marseille was the only meaningful addition to their defensive ranks from last season.