Bukayo Saka injury fear mounts but Arsenal star boy takes matter into his own hands with referee

It is getting to a stage where the Arsenal players are needing to take matters into their own hands. It has been a season where the benefit of the doubt has not fallen the way of the Gunners from an officiating standpoint.

The inconsistency of refereeing has bled into most of their fixtures and certainly cost Arsenal points. However, beyond this, Mikel Arteta’s star boy Bukayo Saka is being subjected to extremely strong challenges to unnerve the youngster who ran Ashley Young ragged on Villa's left-hand side.

Saka faced a serious challenge from Tyrone Mings who, despite initially winning the ball, followed through to the back of the England international’s ankle unnecessarily. Saka was visibly hurt by the action and struggled to recover swiftly.

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Walking off the pitch at halftime, Bukayo Saka was seen speaking to Bobby Madley. The youngster is clearly aware of the lack of protection he is being afforded and wanted to let the referee know that.

The importance of Saka to the Arsenal team cannot be understated. Whilst there is depth in the form of Nicolas Pepe, the 20-year-old moved into double figures for goals this season. Pepe has not provided the technical control that his younger teammate can give.

His link-up play with Martin Odegaard is at such an established level that a change could destabilise Arsenal’s right flank. His loss would be a huge dent to the club’s top-four hopes.

The aggressive opposition Saka’s facing has not gone unnoticed even by Arsenal’s rivals. Editor for The Chelsea Social tweeted: ‘Neutral and probably more biased