'I Was Rubbish': Arsenal star self-critical despite 'electric' 8/10 performance v Fulham

Arsenal picked up a big three points at Fulham on Saturday evening, ridding Craven Cottage of the bogey destination reputation it had become for Mikel Arteta’s side.

There wasn’t much to separate the two sides under the lights at the Cottage. A 58th minute Leandro Trossard goal proved the difference maker in the London derby.

That finish came after a trademark dangerous Arsenal corner, delivered by starboy Bukayo Saka and nodded on by centre-back Gabriel.

Bukayo Saka labelled ‘electric’ for Fulham performance

Saka was deemed to be the Gunners’ star man at Fulham, awarded an 8/10 score by The Standard for his efforts. The outlet wrote: “Went on some magical runs and was Arsenal’s most dangerous attacker. Won a penalty with one of his dribbles, but VAR overturned it. Electric.”

The winger spoke to Sky Sports after the match but was self-critical, despite the rave reviews. In particular, Saka took issue with his first set play deliveries prior to finally getting it right for the Arsenal goal.

He said: “It was a tough start to the game but I wanted to make things happen. In my mind, I wanted to get the ball and make things happen. I grew into the game and had a good performance, which I’m happy with.

“At the start of the game I took some rubbish corners, I was quite disappointed. I kept going and I think this was the fourth one [the goal]. I put it in, it was a nice delivery, Gabriel got the touch and Leo got the goal, so I’m happy with that.”

Arsenal star critical of set piece delivery

When pressed as to why he thought his delivery was poor, Saka responded: “Did you not see them? It’s something we work on a lot, we’re quite good at it. We have high standards for ourselves, I was happy with the ones in the end which helped us get the goal.”

Former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell was on hand to provide punditry and admitted that it was not rare for a professional footballer to strive for perfection, even after a win. He said: “I’m sure Jamie [Redknapp] would be the same, I’d be the same. You can have the best game in the world, if I did two sloppy passes or one loose pass... that’s the details, the levels. That’s the difference between winning the Premier League and not getting there.”

It was an important win for Arsenal, having dropped points in the last two seasons at Craven Cottage. Mikel Arteta’s side are now three points clear at the top of the table, but Liverpool can close that to one again with a win over Manchester United on Sunday.

Reflecting on his side’s recent form, Saka said: “It’s a lot of expectation on us, we know that. We didn’t start the game how we wanted to but we have the experience now to understand. We’ve come here for a few years and not got the results we wanted but today we were able to turn that around.

“This season, we’ve beaten Newcastle United who we’ve had problems against away, West Ham at home too. Now Fulham away, which we struggled with, it’s points we’ve been picking up that in recent seasons we haven’t been picking up, so we’re happy with the result.”

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