Bukayo Saka told to improve 'football intelligence' as Arsenal star slammed for Aston Villa complaints

Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol claims Arsenal's Bukayo Saka must improve his "football intelligence" following his complaints of persistent fouling in the win over Aston Villa last weekend.

Saka was the standout player on show at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon and his match winning strike in the first half tightened Arsenal's grip on fourth place. Mikel Arteta's Champions League-chasing side continue to impress this season and the win over Villa came just before the March international break - the final interval before the Premier League run-in.

But Saka was frustrated with the amount of tackles and fouls he received from Villa players, including a tackle from Tyrone Mings which caused controversy after he was booked. The England international defender won the ball and followed through to take Saka off his feet, but it in a controlled motion.

Speaking to BT Sport after Saturday's win, Saka revealed he had talked to referee Andy Madley. Saka said: "I wasn't complaining to the ref but I just wanted to let him know that that's my game, running at players with pace, and sometimes I need a bit more protection when players are purposefully trying to kick me."

But ex-Liverpool defender Steve Nicol says Mings did nothing wrong and it was in fact Saka's fault for heading into the challenge he couldn't win. He told ESPN FC : "Tyrone Mings did his job, Tyrone Mings got to the ball first and cleared the ball. In my book, that is Saka's fault.

"Don't put yourself in a situation where you might get caught and certainly don't put yourself in a situation where you know you're going to be second to the ball. If you're going to be second to the ball to Tyrone Mings, or any other big centre-back, then you keep yourself out