Arsenal star slammed as 3/10 ‘real ghost’ with ‘wasteful’ Saka given harsh rating by French media
The French media have assessed Arsenal’s performance against Paris Saint-Germain, with England international Bukayo Saka given a harsh rating.
The Gunners were deservedly beaten 1-0 by PSG in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday night.
PSG were the superior side as Ousmane Dembele extended his lead atop our 2025 top scorer in Europe ranking, scoring the only goal in his side’s win vs Arsenal.
Arsenal could not match their performances vs Real Madrid in the first leg against PSG and will arguably have to produce their best showing of the season if they are to turn the tie around and reach the Champions League final.
PSG certainly won the attacking-third battle and the French outlet MaxiFoot have hit out at Saka, even though he was Arsenal’s best forward on Tuesday evening.
“In a team that had been dormant for a long time, the Arsenal winger had the merit of sounding the revolt in the first half. With his runs and his percussion, the England international brought life,” MaxiFoot said when explaining their 4/10 rating.
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“Unsurprisingly, the Gunners’ best moves often came from him and he was able to put pressure on Mendes. However, he still made some wasteful plays and was especially discreet after half-time.”
Foot Mercato were far more forgiving of Saka’s performance, giving him a 6/10 rating. They said: “Once again, the English winger was the most dangerous attacker of the match for the London side.
“During the Gunners’ weak period, he tried to get the ball out to break up his block, and sent a shot into Gianluigi Donnarumma’s gloves, the first for the home side.
“He then did a great job to serve [Gabriel] Martinelli, who was a little short.
“At the end of the first half, he was booked for a gesture of frustration after a generous foul awarded to Nuno Mendes.”
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Gunners captain Martin Odegaard has also been criticised after he was a “real ghost” against PSG.
“The Norwegian was a real ghost,” Foot Mercato wrote on their 3.5/10 rating.
“Very inaccurate on set pieces, Martin Odegaard continually made bad decisions in the game, giving the ball back to the Parisian defense too often in his attempts to put the game forward.
“He came close to a correction, losing a very dangerous ball after attempting a step-over in front of his area.”
Meanwhile, MaxiFoot gave Odegaard a harsher 3/10 score: “The Arsenal captain was a disappointment in this European fixture.
“Pushed around by the Parisians’ aggression, the Norwegian lost most of his duels and seemed unable to stay afloat in his team’s difficult periods.
“Even in the game, the former Madrid player was relatively discreet.”
