Mikel Arteta has urged referees to offer Bukayo Saka more protection in the wake of Steven Gerrard’s criticism of the winger.
The England winger’s goal helped the Gunners secure a 1-0 victory over prior to the international break which tightened Arsenal’s grip on fourth place.
After the game, however, Saka complained his ankle was bloodied having been singled for some particularly rough treatment, particularly from the likes of Tyrone Mings and Matty Cash.
Gerrard, however, defended his players and reminded Saka of the operations he was forced to undergo as a consequence of the rough treatment he was subjected to during his career.
He said: ‘Listen, it’s part of the game. The last time I checked it’s not a no contact sport. I think tackles are allowed, I think aggression is allowed, I think physicality is allowed.
‘He’s a good player, he’s an outstanding talent, I love him, but he can’t complain about that side. That’s football. I’m sitting here now with screws in my hips, I’ve had about 16 operations.
‘I’m struggling to go the gym at the moment and that’s all off the back of earning a living in English football. He’ll learn and he’ll learn quick. Unless they change it to a no contact sport, which I don’t think they will.’
Asked for a response to Gerrard’s comments ahead of Monday’s game against Crystal Palace, Arteta simply urged match officials to ensure his star players are offered the requisite and fair amount of protection.
He said: ‘I think Bukayo said he was not going to complain, but he wanted some consistency in the refereeing.
‘The only person who can protect the players is the referee because he guides the level of the game and the level of the contact and physicality that is allowed or not allowed in a football match. I think we have to protect our best players and that’s in the hands of the referee, that’s all.’
Saka is likely to feature on Monday against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park having missed England’s games against Ivory Coast and Switzerland after he was forced to pull out the squad due to illness.
‘I don’t know how much he would have played,’ added Arteta. ‘Sometimes when a player is in a good moment you don’t want to stop it.
‘It’s what it is, he had Covid and we had to take him out of the national team, he had some if time to rest and to recover, but he will be training in the next few days to again hit the form he was in.’
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