Bukayo Saka left ‘speechless’ at pivotal Newcastle vs Arsenal moment, and it wasn’t Gabriel’s winner
Arsenal were the dramatic winners of a fierce and controversial Premier League encounter with Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
Noni Madueke sent a message to Gabriel after he scored an emotional late winner to climb within two points of Liverpool in the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta has been labelled a ‘lunatic’ for his antics on the sideline, but after seeing his team celebrate a crucial goal in this early-season title race, he won’t mind too much.
After the game, Mikel Arteta criticised VAR for intervening in Viktor Gyokeres‘ first-half penalty award, arguing that the threshold for “clear and obvious” errors wasn’t met.
Bukayo Saka left speechless by VAR decision
Bukayo Saka wasn’t on the pitch when Mikel Merino levelled the score and when Gabriel Magalhaes scored the winner, but he has admitted he was shocked at VAR’s decision to overturn the penalty awarded to Gyokeres.
Speaking after full-time, Saka said: “I’m speechless… For me, if we have VAR it’s for clear and obvious error.
“The fact it took ref that long to decide it shows it’s not a clear error.
“These little things always go against us, but today we got what we deserved.”
On another day, it would have been a damaging decision for Arsenal, but despite ultimately winning the game, Saka wasn’t at his best, which will be a concern for Mikel Arteta.
Saka was uncharacteristically quiet vs Newcastle
Arteta decided to withdraw Saka after 70 minutes in exchange for Gabriel Martinelli, after a largely quiet display from the English international.
The 24-year-old scored 12 goals and assisted 14 last season, but has just one goal in five games this season as he returns to full fitness after a hamstring injury.
His stats against Newcastle made for worrying reading, but Arteta made a wise decision to give him the last 20 minutes to rest.
| Minutes played | 70 |
| Touches | 46 |
| Accurate passes | 18/28 (64%) |
| Key passes | 0 |
| Dribble attempts (successful) | 4 (3) |
| Ground duels (won) | 8 (5) |
| Possession lost | 17 |
While his overall stats were poor and he didn’t make any major contributions in attack, Saka did well with his take-ons and also provided a defensive presence off the ball.
Arsenal need to protect Saka as he is injury-prone, so a rest against Olympiacos would be prudent.