Bukayo Saka is one of the biggest voices at Arsenal.
The Hale End graduate has been at the club since he was a kid, and he has developed into one of the best players in the world over the last five years.
Saka is one of the first names on Mikel Arteta’s team sheet every week, and he almost always delivers for the North Londoners.
On Sunday, following Arsenal’s win against Newcastle United, Saka used some bold words about the refereeing decisions.
Sam Allardyce has now had his say on those comments.
Sam Allardyce tells Arsenal star Bukayo Saka to ‘shut up’
Arsenal have been on the wrong end of a few awful refereeing decisions in recent seasons.
At St James’ Park on Sunday, the Gunners were denied a penalty by the VAR after Nick Pope brought Viktor Gyokeres down inside the box.
Every Arsenal fan will tell you that it was a terrible decision. Arteta felt it was a clear penalty, as did Saka in his post-match interview.
The Arsenal number seven went as far as saying that his side are often on the wrong side of these decisions. “Things like this, these little things, always go against us,” Saka said about the refereeing.
Responding to those comments, former Premier League manager Allardyce has urged the Arsenal star to stop complaining.
He said on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast: “They don’t need to whinge with the talent they’ve got. Shut up! Get on with it!
“When you’ve got a squad at the size you’ve got and what you can achieve with that squad, don’t make excuses. Keep quiet and carry on, and build from within. The mentality comes from within.
“The strong mentality comes from within that says: ‘No matter what you give us, we will cope with it and still win.’ And if you do that, that’s why you win the league.”
Sam Allardyce has completely missed Bukayo Saka’s point
We’ve come to a stage where people will get accused of complaining or making excuses when they stand up for what’s right.
Bukayo Saka did just that on Sunday.
The Arsenal number seven spoke facts that certain decisions always go against Arsenal. There are several examples of that – the Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard red cards from last season are two of them.
Saka’s comments were not ‘whinging’, they were making a point so that the referees will be more consistent and raise their standards going forward.
Sadly, comments like the above from Allardyce and other pundits give the officials no reason to improve. That is why the standard of refereeing has been so poor in recent years.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
