‘I’ve noticed’… Rio Ferdinand says Arsenal are way too reliant on their ‘fantastic’ player now

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Arsenal lost to Newcastle on Saturday evening, and it’s no coincidence that the Gunners’ worst performance of the coincided with one of Bukayo Saka’s worst showings in the past 12 months.

Saka wasn’t brilliant against the Magpies, struggling to really create anything or beat his man on a consistent basis, and according to Rio Ferdinand, the youngster is becoming too important to the Gunners now.

Speaking on Five, Ferdinand stated that he’s noticed that when Saka isn’t on his game, Arsenal’s creativity plummets, while also making the point that the Gunners have to look after Saka and the number of minutes he’s playing at such a young age.

Arsenal too reliant on Saka

Ferdinand spoke about the ‘fantastic’ winger and how much Arsenal rely on him.

“I’ve noticed one thing about you lot though. When Saka ain’t on it, you don’t have creativity, Odegaard as well, those two are your big players,” Ferdinand said.

“It’s a lot of games he’s played isn’t it? I’m not worried, but I’d be really looking at that. Michael Owen is a good yardstick for that. Look what happened to him, they need to take care of Saka.”

Reliable

Ferdinand is right, Arsenal rely on Saka a bit too much, but if ever there was a player to rely on, Saka is that guy.

Saka is one of the most consistent and most reliably brilliant players in the Premier League, and while Arsenal do need a plan B for when Saka isn’t on it, that isn’t something they have to think about very often.

Some teams do rely on their star players too much, and while that is a concerning issue for some sides, it’s hard to ever go into a game thinking that Saka will be anything other than brilliant on the day.

Saka is utterly brilliant, but on the rare occasion he’s not at it, Arsenal do suffer.