Man City player now blamed for Arsenal star’s struggles at Euro 2024, told he’s ‘got to do more’

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Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is coming under criticism as England continue to perform poorly at Euro 2024, but his struggles are not his fault.

Saka has not performed badly, but he is also clearly not at his best level right now, as is the case with most of the England team under Gareth Southgate.

Arsenal star Declan Rice also enjoyed an outstanding campaign for his club, but has come under criticism as England limped to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.

Saka provided the assist for Jude Bellingham’s goal in the opening game of the tournament, but England have struggled as an attacking unit since, and there have been calls for Saka to be dropped for Chelsea star Cole Palmer.

However, former England International Stuart Pearce has now blamed a Manchester City player for not helping Saka enough on the pitch during this time.

Stuart Pearce blames Kyle Walker for Bukayo Saka England struggles

Speaking to talkSPORT, Pearce slammed right-back Kyle Walker for not giving Saka enough support on his side of the pitch.

“I feel sorry for Saka because I don’t think, and I have mentioned it many times on commentaries, Kyle Walker as a full-back is helping this boy out,” he stated.

“He has got to do more for him, he really has. I like Saka. I think he is an outstanding player, but unless you have got a distraction run from your full-back, your work is that much harder to try and get turned and face the opposition up.”

How Kyle Walker is holding Bukayo Saka back for England

England’s attacking troubles stem from the back, as the likes of Saka, Harry Kane and Phil Foden cannot impact the game when they are not receiving the ball in strong attacking positions.

Walker’s poor passing, which saw him misplace 10 attempts, and fail to complete a single cross, and just two of his six attempted long-balls against Slovakia, were a hindrance to Saka on the right side.

The Man City star was continually beaten defensively, forcing Saka to drop deeper, and when he did have the chance to bring the Arsenal attacker into play, he would produce consistently poor passes, which were played into areas where Saka could not gain control of the ball to be able to run into space.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold an option for England, if Southgate sticks with the same shape, and Saka on the wing, the Liverpool star’s quality on the ball should help Saka thrive in attack and help England play with more creativity.