Bukayo Saka ‘gave the game away’ after revealing he spoke to the referee about the physical nature of the challenges he endured against Aston Villa, according to Danny Mills. The Arsenal star admitted in a post-match interview after the 1-0 win earlier this month that he had asked for ‘more protection’ after being the target of a few hard tackles from opposing players.

Villa boss Steven Gerrard challenged by Saka comments and insisted that physicality is an integral part of football. And Mills believes the 20-year-old’s comments made him an easy target for more similar treatment.

“I agree with Gerrard, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Mills said. Football Insider. “What Bukayo Saka has done now is made himself a target, as much as anything else.

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“I’m not advocating kicking him out of the park because if you do that you’re going to get red and yellow cards and nobody wants to see an injured player. But on the other hand if you’re not as good as Saka so how do you stop it?”

shooters the winger has been in sparkling form this season, scoring 10 goals and grabbing five assists in 33 appearances. As one of Arsenal’s best players, he is sure to attract more attention from the opposition, and Mills believes players will now believe they can gain a psychological advantage over the England star. .

He added: “If you can give nasty fouls and be physical within the rules of the game and he doesn’t like it then you get into his head and you know he doesn’t like it. For me , it’s almost like he gave the game a bit.

“He said, ‘That’s what I don’t like’. If you’re the opposition, you’re going to do exactly that.”