- Graeme Souness made the explosive comments against Bukayo Saka during an appearance on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored podcast
- The former Liverpool captain accused Saka of going to ground too easily and singled out Arsenal players for pressuring referees
- Souness weighed in after Saka faced fresh diving accusations during Arsenal's 1-0 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest
Former Liverpool captain Graeme Souness has publicly labelled Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka a "cheat," accusing him of repeatedly going to ground to win fouls during an appearance on Piers Morgan's Football Uncensored podcast.
Souness did not hold back during the podcast, arguing that Saka has a habit of collapsing the moment he feels he might lose the ball, rather than staying on his feet and competing for possession.
Source: Getty Images
According to Yahoo Sport, the former midfielder also turned his criticism toward Arsenal players as a group, claiming they routinely surround referees and apply pressure to reverse correct decisions.
Souness targets Saka over simulation
The comments came after Saka was accused of diving again during Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, a result that left podcast host and Gunners supporter Piers Morgan visibly frustrated.
"Your man Saka dives all over the place. I don't want to hear about him. The minute he looks like losing possession, he's down," Souness was quoted by Daily Mirror..
"He simulates a foul. Anyone who simulates a foul in my book would be a cheat."
Souness went further, describing how Arsenal's collective behaviour around the referee amplifies the problem beyond any individual player.
"He dives when he should be staying on his feet. He's not alone. So Saka gets tackled, he screams as he's going down. The referee thinks there's nothing in that but wait a minute, he's stayed down. And then worse than that, everyone in the immediate area, all Arsenal players, put their hands up and scream foul," he said.
"The referee at that point panics and blows his whistle when it wasn't a foul, his first instinct was the right one. But he blows a foul because he's thinking, wait a minute, something I'm not understanding here."
Souness acknowledged that simulation is far from unique to Saka, describing it as one of the most widespread complaints about the modern game.
"Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it's all over football today. If you asked 100 people what is it you dislike about the modern game, 50 per cent would say simulation, another 50 per cent would say VAR," he added.
Saka's record and previous controversy
Saka is the second-most fouled player in the Premier League this season with 21 fouls won, trailing only Newcastle United's Elliot Anderson on 23.
He has previously attracted scrutiny over his conduct on the pitch, most notably during Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich in 2024, when he went down after contact from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, though referee Glenn Nyberg waved away the appeals.
Arsenal face a demanding schedule in the coming weeks.
They travel to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, October 21, before hosting Everton in the Premier League on Saturday and then visiting Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup three days later, six matches in under three weeks ahead of the next international break.
Arteta reacts after Saka's winner vs Aston Villa
Legit.ng previously reported about Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 win over Aston Villa, Bukayo Saka’s decisive goal and Mikel Arteta’s reaction to the result.
After a VAR review overturned an early penalty decision, Saka bounced back to score the winner and keep Arsenal’s perfect start intact.
Source: Legit.ng
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