Arsenal endured a second defeat in a row on Wednesday night after suffering a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League....CONTINUE READING
Just days after a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, Mikel Arteta watched his side fall foul to the wiliness of Bayern Munich inside the Allianz Arena, as a header from Joshua Kimmich secured a 3-2 win on aggregate.
The Gunners simply looked like a side lacking experience of a significant knockout tie inside the home of a European giant – which they are – as did a number of players who were getting their first taste of such an occasion, like Bukayo Saka.
It has to be said, the England international was very poor against Bayern Munich, and Declan Rice could be seen going berserk at his Arsenal teammate following a 56th minute incident…
Well, the Arsenal No.7 delivered a very sloppy performance, in truth.
Saka failed to beat Bayern Munich’s first man from a crucial corner in the final second – which David Raya made the effort to go up for – and was generally quite ineffective.
In the 56th minute – however – the Hale End graduate made a mistake which infuriated Rice.
Saka and the Arsenal No.41 found themselves in a promising position inside Bayern Munich’s half, where the German giants looked like they could be hurt.
However, the 22-year-old overhit a simple ten yard pass to Rice, which caused the £105m man to squander possession back to Bayern Munich with a loose touch, before he could then be seen shouting and wildly throwing his arms around in complaint towards his fellow countryman.
In truth, it summed up Saka’s night at the Allianz Arena – he did at least receive some praise from Thomas Tuchel afterwards for his immense ability, however.
Saka was undeniably poor on Wednesday night, but we should think about why that may be – as he is obviously talented enough to do better.
The winger’s frequent limping during games has become a point of mockery on social media, but he really does look to be exhausted – the numbers support that.
As WhoScored shows, Saka failed to have a shot against Bayern Munich, nor did he complete a single key pass and embarked on just one dribble.
The Ealing-born forward did register three successful tackles, with only Jorginho making more, so he is clearly trying.
Saka just appears to have run out of steam when it comes to taking defenders on and bursting forwards – after his display in Munich, perhaps Arteta should consider resting his talismanic figure.
