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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka's nine-word response to Marcus Rashford after revealing hidden talent

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is good at basketball and he's got all the proof he needs.

With his club side guaranteed to be top of the Premier League table when the season resumes on Boxing Day after the World Cup break, the Gunners winger is now turning his attention to going one step further with England at a major international tournament in just a matter of weeks.

Named in Gareth Southgate's final 26-man squad alongside Arsenal teammates Benjamin White and Aaron Ramsdale, Saka has already delighted supporters with his response to Manchester City defender Kyle Walker with regard to a question about this season's title race.

READ MORE: England stars compete for Jude Bellingham approval in World Cup training amid transfer stance

And prior to the players flying out to Doha on Tuesday morning to continue their preparations for the World Cup, the 21-year-old used his downtime to try his hand at basketball and his efforts were captured via England's 'Inside Access' video which has been uploaded to YouTube.

At around the 2.52-minute mark, Saka begins showcasing his skills with Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Chelsea's Raheem Sterling in close quarters. Judging by the aforementioned pair's reaction and comments, they aren't too impressed with the Arsenal star's efforts.

Whilst it wasn't exactly a perfect demonstration from Saka, he clung to the fact that the machine told him he was doing a good job. In fact, after Rashford claimed it was 'embarrassing' the Gunners no.7 fired back with a brilliant nine-word message: "When the machine tells you you're good, you're good."

With evidence as concrete as that, it's almost impossible to argue against Saka. And the fact he is good at basketball should not come as a surprise because he was tipped by his former PE teacher to be a professional in that sport instead of football.

"He was an outstanding athlete," Mark Harvey told the Standard last year. "At the time I thought he could have gone on to be a professional basketball player. He was also brilliant at athletics. But on reflection, and as a big Arsenal fan, I can say he made the right choice. Also, he hasn’t quite reached the height I expected!"

On a slightly more serious note, Saka has been backed by Liverpool legend and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher to start England's opening World Cup game against Iran on Monday afternoon (UK time) and it could be at the expense of Man City forward Phil Foden.

"I just think, I love (Raheem) Sterling and think he was England's best player at the Euros, this season's form hasn't been great and in an England shirt of late," Carragher said when discussing how Southgate should line his side up. "I think Saka's been playing that well in that position.

"It was one or the other (Foden or Sterling) because I prefer Raheem on the left. It was always going to be Saka on the right and then Sterling or Foden. But Foden, how he's played, I thought I'd start with him."

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