Paul Scholes thinks Luke Shaw was fairing well against Bukayo Saka, prior to the England star’s stunning long-range goal during Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Manchester United on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.
The Manchester United legend pointed out that when you give players of Saka’s ilk that sort of space, then they can produce ‘magic’, just like Marcus Rashford did in the first half.
Two of England’s brightest prospects produced the best moments of an enthralling five-goal thriller in north London, with Rashford opening proceedings.
The in-form star pounced on a Thomas Partey misplaced pass, then nutmegged the Ghana star, before running at Arsenal’s defence and unleashing a thunderous effort into the bottom corner.
But whatever Rashford can do, well, Saka can do it even better because after he fronted up Luke Shaw on the edge of the box in the second half, cut onto his favoured left foot and unleashed a stunning effort right into the bottom corner.
That was a crucial moment because it put the home team into the lead, and whilst Lisandro Martinez pegged them back again, Eddie Nketiah netted the winner in the 90th minute.
Nonetheless, this is what Scholes made of the battle between Saka and Shaw at the Emirates, as he told Premier League Productions (22/01/23 at 6:40 pm).
“I actually thought Luke Shaw did okay against Saka for a while,” said Scholes. “But you give players like that just one little bit of space and they can produce pieces of magic, like Marcus Rashford did.”
SAKA STEPPING UP
At the age of 21, Saka is showcasing to the world why he is one of the best forward players in the world today.
This isn’t a player joining the party of a team full of star-studded players with heaps of trophy-winning experience behind them.
But somebody who has been the main figure behind Arteta picking Arsenal back up from their dark days of the last ten or years.
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