Alan Shearer notices Bukayo Saka problem in Arsenal vs Brighton: ‘Not very good’
Alan Shearer has pointed out a potential issue after Arsenal’s narrow Premier League win over Brighton on Saturday.
Arsenal beat Brighton 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium, in what was ultimately a nervy affair for the Premier League leaders.
Martin Odegaard found the breakthrough in the first half before Georginio Rutter inadvertently flicked in Declan Rice‘s corner to double the home side’s lead.
Arsenal should have been further ahead after Viktor Gyokeres missed a great chance early on against Brighton, and it is almost came back to bite them when Diego Gomez halved the deficit.
The Gunners would see out the victory, but it was not all good news with Riccardo Calafiori suffering an injury in the warm-up.
Alan Shearer focuses on Bukayo Saka first half display
Rice put in a superb performance against Brighton, despite being forced into a completely unnatural position.
The midfielder was deployed at right-back in the absence of Jurrien Timber, and was tasked with providing overlapping runs for Bukayo Saka.
But the England international need not have done much to help his team-mate, who was in fine form.
Saka ran at Maxim De Cuyper time after time in the first half, and routinely beat the Belgian for pace and strength.
Speaking to BBC Match of the Day on Saturday, Shearer pointed out one moment that the winger may look back on, however.
The 24-year-old had found space behind De Cuyper again, but shot high and wide after he had worked the ball onto his left foot inside the Brighton box.
“Saka was left, so many times, one-versus-one, and for the first half, this was a constant,” the former striker explained.
“He went back, whoever was there, he went past them and caused them all sorts of problems. They work it really, really well, and as I said, they absolutely dominated Brighton and should’ve scored more goals but they didn’t.
“Similar sort of thing there, he works it to where it wants it, but the finish is not very good.”
Saka’s stunning stat line vs Brighton
Saka claimed an assist for Odegaard’s goal, but he would have been frustrated both not to have registered a second when he set up Gabriel Martinelli late on, and not to have scored himself.
Incredibly, the winger took seven shots throughout the 90 minutes but was often off the mark, firing into defenders or over the bar.
| Bukayo Saka | vs Brighton |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Shots | 7 |
| Chances created | 4 |
| Successful dribbles | 3/5 |
| Recoveries | 5 |
| Duels won | 6/9 |
It was a performance of real confidence from the England international, who also created four chances and completed more dribbles than anyone else.
With Saka in such form, Arsenal will feel as if they can beat anyone, and they will need to if they are to keep their lead at the top, given the relentless form of Manchester City and Aston Villa.