Alan Shearer stated that Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka is ‘virtually impossible to stop’ when he is running at you at full speed following his side’s goalless draw against Newcastle United on Tuesday night.
The 21-year-old was up against the experience and height of Dan Burn at the Emirates Stadium, as he caused the former Brighton man problems early on.
But despite being in great form this season, including scoring in back-to-back games, Burn kept the England international at bay.
The wide areas for Mikel Arteta have proved to be a great goalscoring threat since the start of last season, but not against Eddie Howe’s Champions League-chasing side.
Whilst Burn faired very well against Saka, over on the other channel, Miguel Almiron and Kieran Trippier worked well to stop the threat of Gabriel Martinelli.
This was touched upon by Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer who spoke about trying to stop Saka when he is running at you, as he told Premier League Productions (03/01/23 at 8:40 pm).
“He actually stopped Dan Burn and when that happens, then he is virtually impossible to stop because he is that quick,” said Shearer.
“But then in everything Newcastle United have done to stop that, it has worked really well for them. Both on that side and the other side with Almiron and Trippier. And we haven’t seen Martinelli, at all.”
UNHAPPY ARTETA
There might not have been any goals during Arsenal’s clash with Newcastle, but it was still filled with drama.
There were a number of penalty shouts during the match, with Mikel Arteta expressing his anger on the touchline when his side weren’t awarded a penalty for handball in stoppage-time.
Those actions were slammed by Shearer himself because he thinks Arteta was ‘disrespectful’ towards Newcastle, as both teams continued their positive start since the return of domestic action after the World Cup break.
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