Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has showered praise on Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka for his standout performance during the Gunners’ commanding 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.
Mikel Arteta’s side took on Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, February 24. The game’s deadlock was broken in the 18th minute courtesy of an own goal by Sven Botman. Shortly after, Kai Havertz extended the Gunners’ lead in the 24th minute with an assist from Gabriel Martinelli.
In the 65th minute, Saka further solidified Arsenal’s dominance by slotting a shot into the bottom-left corner, making it 3-0 for the home team. Jakub Kiwior then added a fourth goal for the North London outfit in the 69th minute, with Declan Rice providing the assist.
Despite Joe Willock’s consolation goal for Newcastle in the 84th minute, Arsenal secured a convincing 4-1 victory.
Following the match, Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender, took note of Saka’s exceptional contributions. In his remarks (via HITC), Ferdinand highlighted Saka’s remarkable goal-scoring prowess and the significant impact he has had on the team:
“The goals he is scoring and the impact again he is having on the team is phenomenal, but I think the upturn in form for Arsenal has coincided with Odegaard but also Saka. His form has jumped up again in that time and it has started to really pick up.”
Saka’s performance statistics underscore his importance to Arsenal, boasting an impressive passing accuracy of 84% and creating two scoring opportunities during the match. This season, the British talent has featured in 34 games for the North London club, amassing an impressive tally of 16 goals and 13 assists.
