Arsenal and Bukayo Saka made Antonee Robinson ‘look foolish’ during Sunday’s 3-0 Premier League trouncing of Fulham at Craven Cottage, former top-flight defender Neil Taylor tells the BBC Football Daily podcast.
The good news, at least, is that the season should only get easier from here for Marco Silva’s USA international.
Saka is arguably the most fearsome right-winger in world football by now. And more experienced left-backs than Robinson have struggled to keep up in recent months; Arsenal’s number seven in devastating form once again as Mikel Arteta’s side maintained their lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Fulham were without Joao Palhinha and former Gunners winger Willian. That didn’t help, of course, but even with two of their most important stars, the high-flying hosts may have found matching this irrepressible Arsenal side a challenge too steep.
Bukayo Saka shines as Arsenal thump Fulham
“They were missing a couple of key players. It just looked like they were really out of their depth against what Arsenal had,” says the former Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Wales left-back.
“On the back of Europe (Thursday’s 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon), you just didn’t think Arsenal would start that quickly. But they were unbelievable. They are relentless at the minute.
“Even when you break on them, the speed that they get back… if you’re in an opposition team at the minute, you must think it’s wave after wave after wave.
“Antonee Robinson looked quite foolish at the times. But that’s just because it was one after another for him, dealing with Saka running at him. Arsenal have been fantastic. They just keep performing like this.”
One-time Fulham defender Stephen Kelly, meanwhile, will just have been glad he wasn’t on the pitch on Sunday afternoon; the Cottagers suffering their most punishing 90 minutes since promotion as Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard made Arsenal’s vast superiority count.
“The way the wingers put the ball in the box is unbelievable. And then the quality, how many players they flood into the box. It’s a nightmare to defend when you have that many players running in and around you,” Kelly adds.
“Robinson, it was a difficult afternoon for him. He made a couple of bad decisions. But they way Arsenal play, how quickly they go through transitions…
“It pains me to say it but they are a joy to watch.”
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