Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has claimed that Bukayo Saka is unsuited for Arsenal’s style of play, insisting that the Gunners are over-reliant on set-pieces.
Last Sunday (March 22), the Gunners’ quadruple hopes were squashed after a 2-0 EFL Cup final loss to Manchester City at Wembley Stadium. Nico O’Reilly scored a fine brace after the hour-mark while Mikel Arteta’s side failed to be creative enough to stand a fighting chance in London.
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Discussing Arsenal‘s toothless performance in the EFL Cup final, Scholes asserted that the Gunners stars were all out of ideas against Pep Guardiola’s team. He said on ‘The Good, The Bad and The Football’ podcast (h/t Metro):
“Their better players just weren’t performing. You talk about these forward players not performing but you have to look at your midfield players and your centre-halves, they couldn’t get the ball to them. Did you see the bit where Bernardo Silva sprinted out to try to stop it going for a corner? Even when you’re playing against it, you don’t want to give it away.”
Likening Arsenal to Tony Pulis’ Stoke City side, Scholes said:
“It’s almost like playing against Stoke what we did years ago. Sometimes because the throw-ins were that good, the manager told us to kick it out for a corner because of (Rory) Delap, because the delivery is not as good. What we’re saying is, I think they’ve become obsessed with it. They’ve forgot about the other way that they can actually score goals.”
Scholes also asserted that talented Gunners stars like Saka looked clueless on the pitch in the EFL Cup final, saying:
“They’ve got good players. You’ve got Saka who looks lost at the minute because they can’t get the ball to him, more than anything, he’s got great ability.”
How well has Bukayo Saka performed for Premier League leaders Arsenal in ongoing term?
Since the start of the 2025-26 campaign, Bukayo Saka has featured in 42 matches across competitions for Arsenal. He has started 32 total games, including 22 in the Premier League, for the Emirates Stadium outfit.
Saka, 24, has found the back of the net nine times in all competitions and provided seven assists as well. He has bagged seven non-penalty goals in 2869 minutes of first-team action for the Gunners so far this term.
Statistically, the left-footed Englishman’s productivity has regressed over the years. His best campaign was 2023-24 when he registered 20 goals and 17 assists in 47 games across competitions for his boyhood club.
Edited by Debkalpa Banerjee
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