Arteta needs to ‘shut up and stop moaning’ as Arsenal lodge Saka complaint to PGMOL

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal have been told to “shut up and stop moaning” after the Gunners complained to the Premier League’s refereeing body about the rough treatment on Bukayo Saka by his opponents.

Saka was fouled 87 times in 2023; only Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew (117) and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes (92) were fouled more.

It’s thought Arsenal lodged the complaint as a result of an accumulation of incidents, and believe opponents are given a free hit on the England international before being punished.

The rough treatment of Saka in particular was brought up as part of a wider conversation with the PGMOL earlier this season.

Arsenal are believed to have said that a referee should issue a yellow card to an offender after the first strong foul on the 22-year-old, rather than wait for a second infringement.

But Gabby Agbonlahor has dismissed it as another case of unnecessary carping, and told Arteta and Arsenal to “shut up and stop moaning”.

Agbonlahor told talkSPORT: “Shut up, stop moaning. It’s all you hear off Arteta and Arsenal – get on with it, it’s football.

“Back in your day, you used to get fouled every time you got the ball. Look at the clips of Maradona, he used to get two-footed in the chest!

“Messi – kicked, kicked, kicked – he just gets up, takes a quick free-kick and gets on with it.

“Honestly, just stop moaning. Get on with your game.”

In February last year Arteta warned Saka that he can’t rely on referees to protect him from rough treatment.

The Spaniard said at the time: “He needs to learn when to take certain balls, what to do with that ball, how to use his body, when to jump.

“There are a lot of things we can train but obviously it is very difficult to understand what the opponent is going to do.

“Wingers and talented players get kicked and fouled and get the demand to win games and that is the chance he has, that is his role in the team.”

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