Rio Ferdinand has defended Bukayo Saka after the Arsenal superstar faced ridicule online for his poor performance against Manchester City.
Saka did not have a significant impact in the important match between the two top Premier League teams and was substituted in the 78th minute.
Rival supporters made fun of Saka on social media with @Ftbl_AK sharing a popular video on X, formerly known as Twitter, which included the caption: ‘Whenever this guy underperforms in a big game, he starts limping. Who's trying to deceive others?’
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta revealed after the game that Saka only trained one day before the game after he pulled out of the England team due to an injury.
Ferdinand talked about Saka’s performance at the Etihad on his FIVE podcast on Tuesday as host Joel Beya mentioned Saka’s failure to take a shot and his lack of chances created, successful dribbles and passes into the final third.
‘It was a close game,’ Ferdinand said as he supported Saka, having previously stated that the Arsenal player is not a top-class player earlier this season.
‘There was a lot at stake. These are the games where you want him to make a difference and be the standout player. But listen, no attacker left the field thinking, ‘I unlocked that game’.
‘Gabriel Jesus [had a big chance], on another day, he would have had an easy goal. They were all quiet.
‘All the attacking players were quiet, really. It was just one of those games which was a close, cautious battle.’
Saka was replaced by Gabriel Martinelli after going down holding his leg in the second half but Arteta insists he is okay and was only struggling with tiredness.
‘Nothing serious,’ Arteta said. ‘He was feeling tired. He only trained one day before the match. He had a big contribution but it was a lot, 90 minutes for him today.’
Saka was recently warned that he will be ‘forced out of the game’ if he is not better protected by referees.
The Gunners officially raised concerns to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) in January that Saka was not being properly shielded by officials.
