Graeme Souness hit the headlines this week by outright branding Bukayo Saka a fraud, with Mikel Arteta now speaking out about the pundit’s brutal war of words.
Mikel Arteta has responded to Graham Souness’ suggestion that Bukayo Saka is a “fraud” and says he “won’t talk about opinions”.
Souness hit the headlines earlier this week after a segment on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored show, during which he accused former no-nonsense Liverpool midfielder Saka of diving “when he should have been standing up”.
He said: “Your man Saka dunks everywhere. I don’t want to hear about him. He goes down when he looks like he’s losing possession.
“He’s faking a foul. Anyone faking a foul would be a cheat in my book.
“He’s diving when he should be standing. He’s not alone. So Saka is struggling, screaming as he goes down.
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“The referee thinks there’s nothing to do but wait a minute, he stays put. And what’s worse is that everyone in the immediate area – all the Arsenal players – put their hands up and call it a foul.
“Then the referee panics and blows the whistle when it’s not foul – his first instinct was right. But he’s fouling because he thinks, ‘wait a minute, there’s something I don’t understand here’.”
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“Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it’s everything in football these days. If you ask 100 people what they don’t like about the modern game, 50 percent will say simulation and 50 percent will say VAR.”
Now Arteta has made it clear he will not entertain Souness’s views.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, the Spaniard explained: “I haven’t heard it and I’m not going to talk about opinions.”
Asked if the opinions were dangerous because players can gain reputations from outside noise, Arteta replied: “I don’t know.
“We’re open to ideas. It’s part of our jobs, part of our roles, and those ideas should be respected — especially if they’re done respectfully.
“And we’re here to prove that we belong at this level, at this stage, and we definitely have the intention and the ambition to always improve and be better. That’s it.”
Saka will play a big role when the Gunners take on the Bavarians at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday. The start is scheduled for 20:00.