Arsenal fans have now shared their verdict about the performance that Bukayo Saka produced against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
Bukayo Saka could do nothing to prevent Arsenal from being eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
The Gunners travelled to Germany knowing that only a win would do, as the aggregate scores were level at 2-2 prior to kick-off in this second-leg quarter-final fixture at the Allianz Arena.
Mikel Arteta needed his big players to step up in this match. However, on the night, the Gunners could not find their top gear.
Martin Odegaard huffed and puffed, but to no avail. Declan Rice was one of three Arsenal players to have a defensive lapse that allowed the hosts to net their deciding goal. Saka was unable to make an impact in the final third.
Bukayo Saka fails to shine for Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Saka is one of the Gunners’ talismanic figures, and is someone Arteta will have been looking to to drag his side back into the game after they fell behind in the second half.
Whilst the 22-year-old winger worked hard, though, he could not make much headway against the Bayern Munich defence. The Hale End academy graduate ran hard and was diligent in his defensive work, but did not once test Manuel Neuer or carve out a clear-cut opportunity for a teammate.
Saka has been labelled a “world-class” player this season, but was held at arms’ length on the continental stage last night, and not for the first time in recent weeks his overall performance looked to be somewhat jaded. The attacker has had to play an awful lot of football this season, as there is not an adequate rotation option for him in the Arsenal squad. He looks like a player in need of a rest.
Arsenal fans have say on Bukayo Saka display v Bayern Munich
Many Arsenal fans were underwhelmed by Saka’s outing against the German giants. They took to X to share their thoughts on the forward’s struggles.
One said, “Rice and Saka are exhausted.” Another supporter claimed, “We gave no one to compete with Saka on the right. He has too many quiet games. Why does he not move in central more to effect the game? That’s on arteta. Big lesson for us today. But we move on. I will take CL quarter final first time back in the comp. Big summer needed.”
One fan stated that Saka has “been a bit meh lately. We really need players to rotate into important positions so we don’t run out stars into the ground.”
Another supporter believes that, “he should have been subbed anyway. We’ve played him into the ground for consecutive seasons now and it shows.”