Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard fires back after Bukayo Saka's protection plea
Steven Gerrard dismissed Bukayo Saka’s claims over Villa’s physicality after the Arsenal star demanded more protection from referees.
Saka scored the only goal as the Gunners left Villa Park on Saturday with a comfortable 1-0 win to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
The 20-year-old England international was substituted midway through the second half with a bloodied ankle and later revealed he had spoken to referee Andrew Madley after the match.
“I wasn’t complaining but I wanted to let him know that is my game,” he said. “I’m going to run at players, sometimes I need a bit more protection when the opposition is trying to kick me.”
But that suggestion was given short shrift by Gerrard, who replied: “He’s a good player, an outstanding talent. I love him. But he can’t complain about that side of it, that’s football.
“I’m sitting here now with screws in my hips. I’ve had about 16 operations. I’m struggling to go to the gym at the moment. That’s all on the back of earning a living in English football. He’ll learn and he’ll learn quick.”
Gerrard continued: “He said we were too rough? So did Arsenal not commit any fouls? Listen, it’s part of the game. The last time I checked, it wasn’t a no-contact sport. I think tackles are allowed, physicality is allowed, aggression is allowed.”
Madley had booked Tyrone Mings in the first half when he caught Saka on the follow through despite cleanly winning the ball while, somewhat ironically, Gerrard’s chief complaint about his team’s performance was their passive approach during the opening 45 minutes.
“I expected to see a different Villa Park for the first 45 minutes,” he said. “I expected us to be more aggressive, less passive. I didn’t want us to be a humble team and wait. That is the performance we gave and the reason we came away with nothing.”
Villa went close to a leveller when Ollie Watkins saw a shot deflected onto the post but their only attempt on target came with the last kick of the afternoon, when Bernd Leno saved Philippe Coutinho’s free-kick.
Veteran Ashley Young, who accused Arsenal of celebrating the win like they had “won the league”, shared the manager’s frustration at the first half display.
He said: “You look at the second-half performance and the way we’ve performed, we’ve hit the post, Ingsy just missed one, then we’ve created other chances.
“I think it was all us in the second half. It’s just a disappointment we didn’t start the game like we did in the second half and play that way through.
“I think that’s been the story of quite a few games this season, especially when we’ve played against the top teams.”
