Graeme Souness launches explosive Bukayo Saka criticism calling him a "cheat"
by Ahad Shaukat · CaughtOffsideGraeme Souness has launched a fierce attack on Bukayo Saka, accusing the Arsenal winger of going to ground too easily and using “simulation” to win decisions.
The former Liverpool captain’s comments are likely to divide opinion, particularly because Saka remains one of the Premier League’s most frequently fouled attackers and regularly receives heavy physical treatment from defenders.
Want more CaughtOffside coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust
Still, Souness believes the England international crosses the line too often.
Souness accuses Arsenal star Saka of ‘simulation’
Speaking on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored, Souness did not hold back.
“Your man Saka dives all over the place. I don’t want to hear about him. The minute he looks like losing possession, he’s down,” Souness said, as reported by Mirror.
“He simulates a foul. Anyone who simulates a foul in my book would be a cheat.
“He dives when he should be staying on his feet. He’s not alone. So Saka gets tackled, he screams as he’s going down. The referee thinks there’s nothing in that but wait a minute, he’s stayed down. And then worse than that, everyone in the immediate area – all Arsenal players – put their hands up and scream foul.
“The referee at that point panics and blows his whistle when it wasn’t a foul – his first instinct was the right one. But he blows a foul because he’s thinking, wait a minute, something I’m not understanding here.
“Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it’s all over football today. If you asked 100 people what is it you dislike about the modern game, 50 per cent would say simulation, another 50 per cent would say VAR.”
Souness’ criticism feels harsh given Saka’s workload
There is a valid wider debate around simulation in modern football, but singling Saka out this strongly feels excessive.
He is constantly targeted by defenders because of how dangerous he is in one-v-one situations, and those repeated challenges naturally lead to plenty of contact.
More importantly, his football continues to answer critics.
The Guardian reported that Saka came off the bench against Lille last week, scored once and created another in Arsenal’s 3-0 Champions League victory.
That performance underlined why Arteta relies on him so heavily. Saka may occasionally look for fouls, as plenty of elite attackers do, but reducing his game to simulation ignores the bigger picture.
He remains one of Arsenal’s most decisive players, and opponents continue to foul him so frequently precisely because stopping him legally is often difficult.
Sources: Arsenal expected to demand more than €100m for player with “big personality”
Live Comments
Welcome to our Live Comments section, where new comments will appear automatically
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *