Saka not properly protected, Arsenal warn officials

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka will be ‘kicked out of the game’ unless he is better protected by referees, according to club legend Bob Wilson.

The Gunners officially complained to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in January that Saka was not being adequately protected by officials.

Rival clubs laughed off that suggestion given that Saka was only the third-most fouled player in 2023 – with Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew fouled 30 more times.

But Arsenal legend Wilson has attempted to raise the issue once again ahead of his old club facing Manchester City in a title showdown at the Etihad on Sunday.

‘What drives me demented is we have one of the best young players and, if we aren’t careful, football will lose him by the time he is 24 or 25 because Bukayo Saka will have been kicked out of the game,’ Wilson told The Telegraph.

‘Referees don’t seem to see or understand it. There are always a minimum of two players within five yards of Saka and often a third. If they can’t stop him, they kick him.

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‘People say, ‘What do you mean? That’s too dramatic’ – I say there has not been a more kicked player in the Premier League than Bukayo Saka.

‘If he is facing in an attacking position, and he is taking them on, that is the time I worry. I really worry for Bukayo.

‘I see Saka up with the greats… if he is not kicked out of the game. He is clever, dangerous, and knows when to release it.

‘I love him on one side and [Gabriel] Martinelli, with his sheer pace, on the other.’