EPL: Arsenal have had meeting with referees – Bukayo Saka

Arsenal youngster, Bukayo Saka, has revealed that the Premier League leaders have met with the refereeing body PGMOL to discuss his rough treatment.

Saka has netted 10 times and laying on nine assists in just 27 appearances to help the Gunners move to the top of the Premier League table.

However, he has often ended matches looking beat-up and bruised, with many opposition teams taking a rather aggressive approach to try and stop him.

Saka has been fouled 45 times in the Premier League – which ranks him joint 16th for fouls per match – but those free-kicks have drawn just four yellow cards.

That means opposition players average one yellow card for every 11.25 fouls they commit on Saka, whereas fouls committed on Jack Grealish – the second-most fouled player in the league behind Wilfried Zaha – result in a yellow card every 4.9 times.

While Saka is not too bothered about how he is treated on the pitch or the discrepancy with other players, he says Arsenal have brought it up on his behalf with PGMOL.

‘I can’t come out here and start complaining that I’m getting fouled. It doesn’t make sense, I’m not going to get anywhere with it,’ Saka told The Evening Standard.

‘Arsenal have had the meetings they need to have with the referees and stuff like that. I feel like we just need to take it from there and see where that gets us.

‘The way I play, I’m always going to attract contact.

‘I watched Alexis Sanchez a lot growing up. He was a special player, I loved many things about him. That’s one of the qualities he had — he always got up, fought to the end.