Fans wanting Arsenal star dropped are crazy – there’s a vendetta against him

Darren Bent has launched into a passionate defence of Bukayo Saka -insisting fans have wrongly made him a scapegoat for club and country. Saka’s form has come under scrutiny this season, but he delivered the perfect response to his critics in Arsenal ‘s 3-0 win over Lille as he scored and assisted in a stellar 25-minute cameo. Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League victory, the winger faced criticism over a perceived slow start to the campaign, despite having scored three goals in eight games up to that point. This came to a head after Arsenal’s win over Leeds on Saturday afternoon , where he managed just two shots and attempted one dribble at the Emirates. It prompted club legend David O’Leary to question Saka’s displays, who claimed he wasn’t justifying his £300,000-a-week contract . Illness saw the 25-year-old drop to the bench against Lille, with Noni Madueke starting in his place before coming on in the 65th minute. And he made an instant impact – assisting Eberechi Eze’s strike to make it 2-0 and then rolled in his side’s third goal four minutes later. This took Saka’s tally to four goals in nine games this season, and led ex-Tottenham striker Bent to leap to his defence. What has Darren Bent said about Bukayo Saka? Speaking on talkSPORT Drive, Bent insisted Saka has taken unfair flack this term, and claimed criticism of him would’ve been more justified last season. In the 2025/26 campaign, the England star managed just seven Premier League goals, with question marks over his fitness at times. On Saka, Bent said: “I thought he’s looked quite sharp this season, if I’m honest. There were times last season where he maybe wasn’t at his best. “He played a lot of games last season, but still, seven in the Premier League for someone like Saka and three in the Champions League – he’s better than that.” Bent then highlighted Saka’s importance to Arsenal by comparing his impact against Lille with positional rival Madueke. He continued: “Last night was a clear indication about his levels.  Madueke obviously started, struggled again.” The talkSPORT pundit argued: “Madueke, not good enough, not really creating anything. Saka comes on, it’s an instant impact. “I think a lot of the work that Saka does as well goes unnoticed, because the amount of times Arsenal players will give him the ball when he’s got two people on his back and he manages to hold onto it, hold someone off and then at the last minute find the pass. “He literally takes us up the pitch, he holds onto possession. I think he’s top drawer, I really do.” Continuing to defend Saka, Bent insisted criticism of him is nothing new, pointing to previous calls for him to be dropped by England during Euro 2024. “For whatever reason, people are always looking for reasons to doubt him, whether it be for England [or Arsenal]. “I remember at the last Euros people were talking about, ‘We need to change something, this performance hasn’t been good enough, get Saka out.’ “There always seems to be a kind of a vendetta against him.” Bukayo Saka’s career at a glance While his impact has been questioned, Saka has established himself as a mainstay for both club and country in recent years. He was a regular starter for England at both Euro 2020 and 2024, having also hit double figures in goals for Arsenal in the seasons of the major tournaments. At the 2026 World Cup, Saka began the tournament on the bench amid an Achilles injury, before recovering to start four games as the Three Lions claimed a third-place finish – scoring a hat-trick in the bronze medal clash with France. Having also been named England’s Men’s Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023, Bent insisted there should be no question marks about the forward’s ability. Rounding off, he said: “The guy’s won England Player of the Year twice. It’s crazy! “But for Arsenal, he looks sharp, he looks hungry.”