Ex-Tottenham manager lodges strange criticism at Arsenal superstar Saka

Cameron Smith

• 19 Feb 2024 00:32 CST
• 3 min read

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has aimed a strange piece of criticism at Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka after the Englishman netted a brace during the Gunners’ 5-0 demolition of Burnley on Saturday.

Saka, 22, scored Arsenal’s second goal of the afternoon from the penalty spot before bagging his second of the game and the Gunners’ third with a neat right-footed finish into the roof of the net from close range.

Despite increasing his Premier League tally to 12 goals so far this season, Sherwood has criticised the England international for a “poor penalty,” even though it nestled past Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford.

“It’s up to Saka and this is not convincing,” Sherwood admitted to Premier League Productions (via Metro).

“It’s convincing enough when it nestles behind the goalkeeper into the back of the net, but if you are an Arsenal fan, you would have had your heart in your mouth at that stage.

“It was a poor penalty. You look at the goalkeeper, he should save it. I mean, it has gone underneath his hand.

“But at the end of the day, it ended up in the back of the net,” Sherwood concluded.

Saka now has 12 goals and seven assists in the Premier League so far this season, while that tally rises by a further three goals and four assists when including Champions League matches too.

Bukayo Saka’s stats vs Burnley

FootballCritic gave Saka a score of 7.9 out of 10 versus Burnley, which was only the fourth best among Mikel Arteta’s troops. Gabriel, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz all rated better than the Hale End kid, who made his exit with 20 minutes still remaining, with his job having been done to a more than satisfactory level.

He was ever available to his teammates, with only Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice posting more touches per minute among the starting midfielders and forwards.

Saka, meanwhile, used the ball relatively well. His pass competition was above that of Havertz and Leandro Trossard, while only Odegaard completed more passes in the final third.