Ian Wright has claimed that one area of Arsenal star Bukayo Saka’s game goes under the radar.
Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford today for what was a huge 90 minutes in terms of their Premier League title hopes.
It was a nervy opening 15 minutes for Arsenal as Manchester United started brightly and went close through Rasmus Hojlund.
But Leandro Trossard claimed those nerves with a straightforward finish in the 20th minute after Casemiro played Kai Havertz onside by failing to step up with the United backline.
To United’s credit, they continued to cause problems for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta’s side had to be resilient defensively in the opening period.
And Ian Wright was full of praise for Bukayo Saka’s defensive work ahead of the clash at Old Trafford.
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Wright says Saka’s defending goes under the radar
Speaking to the Premier League’s official website, the Arsenal legend feels Saka’s defensive work often goes unnoticed.
“You look at Saka’s numbers, not just his goals and assists but his defensive work, which is always overlooked,” Wright said.
“He’s a very intelligent player when it comes to helping the team. He’s got such a level that it’s normalising very, very consistent play.”
Saka was tasked with helping Ben White out today, with Alejandro Garnacho causing problems down the left-hand side.
The 22-year-old struggled slightly with Diogo Dalot’s positioning in the opening period though, with the Portuguese defender often drifting into midfield.
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Man United vs Arsenal
Arsenal were way below their best today but they ultimately got the job done with a 1-0 victory in Manchester.
It was just their second win at Old Trafford in their last 17 visits to Manchester.
The statistics reflect what was an assured display from Arsenal on the road today. Arteta’s men only had 46 per cent of the ball but according to Sofascore, they limited United to just 0.64 xG.
Arsenal created 1.71 xG on the day and the one big chance they carved out was converted by Trossard.
The Gunners will now be relying on their north London rivals Tottenham to pick up a result against Manchester City on Tuesday evening.
Arteta’s side moved a point ahead of the reigning champions but Guardiola’s men will play their game in hand at Spurs next week.