Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka faced heavy criticism after his late-game decisions on set-pieces contributed to the Gunners' 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg, losing 3-2 on aggregate. With Arsenal trailing, Saka opted to take a quick free-kick short to Ben White instead of testing the goalkeeper, and then failed to beat the first man from a corner, leading to the final whistle.
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, speaking on TNT Sports, expressed disappointment in Saka's choices. 'Saka for some reason takes a really free-kick when there’s an opportunity to really test the goalkeeper right at the end,' Keown said. 'They were quite flat within the game and there was no real urgency in the closing stages.'
Bayern deployed Noussair Mazraoui and Raphael Guerreiro on the left flank to neutralise Saka, who struggled to influence the match as he has in many Premier League games this season. Keown added that Arsenal's lack of experience in high-stakes moments was evident, noting 'it’s mentality in those moments.'
