{"id":1417,"date":"2026-04-01T15:32:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2026-04-01T15:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T15:32:41","slug":"wayne-rooney-sheds-light-on-issues-with-bukayo-saka-as-arsenal-chase-pl-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=1417","title":{"rendered":"Wayne Rooney sheds light on issues with Bukayo Saka as Arsenal chase PL title"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"5147635\" data-slug-id=\"2760952\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been under immense pressure this season. He said that the winger has struggled, partially because of being the captain.<\/p>\n<p>Saka has been a key player for the Gunners since graduating from their academy. The 24-year-old has made 305 senior appearances for them, scoring 79 goals and providing 78 assists. However, he&#8217;s struggled this season with nine goals and seven assists in 42 games.<\/p>\n<p><template id=\"template__newsletter-inline-banner-form-combo-widget\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<p><img id=\"subscribe-img\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Thanks for the submission!\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Wayne Rooney believes it could be because Saka is under pressure to deliver Arsenal their first major trophy since 2020. He said on the <em>BBC<\/em> (h\/t <em><a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/04\/01\/wayne-rooney-reveals-bukayo-saka-problem-arsenal-chase-premier-league-title-27799620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Metro<\/a><\/em>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Do you know what? You need to look at the pressure on Bukayo Saka, especially as he\u2019s been captain for a lot of the season with Martin Odegaard being injured. That pressure to win trophies, given where Arsenal have been, that can tally up and make it difficult for you.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;He has struggled this season but he\u2019s a fantastic player and he\u2019s been brilliant. He\u2019s played a lot of games as well in his career. I think we all know there\u2019s more there,&#8221; he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Odegaard has played 27 games across competitions for the Gunners this season, with Saka being the captain in his absence. <\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Pundit backs Arsenal star Bukayo Saka to start for England at 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/h2>\n<p>Bukayo Saka&#8217;s struggles this season have also translated to his performances at the international level. He has one goal and one assist in the last three games for England. He didn&#8217;t feature in their friendlies this month. <\/p>\n<p>Hence, there is speculation about his place in Thomas Tuchel&#8217;s starting XI at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, Alan Smith believes the Arsenal man will beat competition on the right wing to start for the Three Lions, saying (h\/t <em>Metro<\/em>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;It\u2019s not been the best, has it, for him? He\u2019s set such high standards. But he\u2019s always done well for England. He knows what it\u2019s about. He\u2019s got great tournament experience and he\u2019s done well in tournaments.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;So it would take a lot I think for Tuchel to drop him. Plus the fact he hasn\u2019t really got anybody you\u2019d say, oh no, he should be in ahead of him. Jarrod Bowen plays on the right. Noni Madueke, his clubmate. But I still think Saka\u2019s in the box seat comfortably, really,&#8221; he added. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Overall, the Arsenal winger has scored 14 goals and provided nine assists in 48 games for England.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\" title=\"like article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\" title=\"dislike article\"><br \/>\n<img class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" data-lazy=\"\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Thank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Aditya Singh<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been under immense pressure this season. He said that the winger has struggled, partially because of being the captain. Saka has been a key player for the Gunners since graduating from their academy. The 24-year-old has made 305 senior appearances for them, scoring 79 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}