Arsenal of England winger, Bukayo Saka has come under the scrutiny of the British media, with many pundits and analysts wondering why The Gunners’ crew have been playing him as a left-back in recent matches, megasportsarena.com reports.
Starting from the interim days of Freddie Ljunberg, Saka has dropped eep into defensive from his previous roles down the left flank, and he again played the role in Thursday’s draw against Bournemouth.
Although he edned up with average marks from the 1-1 draw at Vitality Stadium, a cross-section of post-match views, comments and reports pointed out that the youngster looked better when he went up front than when he tried out as a defender.
The word out of Emirates Stadium is that Saka is filling in for two injured normal left-backs in the team, but the media is now leading crusade that could see the Nigerian-born youngster moved back up front under their new coach, Mikel Arteta.
Saka was again deployed as left back on Thursday by Arteta, as The Gunners’ former captain lined out for his first game in charge of the squad he joined at the start of this week, and tried to make the best of their match day 19 fixture away to Bournemouth.
Saka got six marks out of ten on the cards of ESPN and gained five points from The Mirror, after seeing him play all 90 minutes at Vitality Stadium, with both reports noting that he was shaky defensively, better going forward and disappointing with his final touch, while also noting that the dark-0skinned youngster tried to adapt to the unfamiliar role.
ESPN stated in their report: “Bukayo Saka , 6 — It may not be his first-choice position, but the 18-year-old looks more than comfortable at left-back. The youngster was always available on the overlap, and was the most reliable Gunner when it came to a final ball, although that wasn’t saying much.”
The Mirror added: “Bukayo Saka 5. Played at left-back which seemed a waste the majority of his attacking talents. When he did get forward, his crossing let him down;” while Daily Star posited: “Bukayo Saka – 6. Forced to fill in at left-back, looked to push forward but end product let him down.”
