Arsenal called a 'bunch of sods' with 'whining' culture in front of club icon

talkSPORT understands the Gunners have held conversations with Premier League's refereeing body [PGMOL] about what they deem to be rough treatment of their star man.

Saka was the Premier League's third-most fouled player in 2023 after being brought down 87 times in the competition.

The only players who were fouled more in that calendar year were Jordan Ayew of Crystal Palace (117) and Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes (92).

Arsenal have requested more protection for the England international, something former Gunners defender Keown agrees with, much to the annoyance of Jordan.

"The thing I'm most surprised about is that Saka is not at the top of this list," Keown told talkSPORT. "My interpretation of watching games is that he is the most fouled player currently in the Premier League.

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"It used to be [Jack] Grealish but it should be Saka. Why are referees waiting until the third or fourth tackle before they book players around Saka.

"If you look at Ayew and Bruno, why do they appear in the top ten for most fouls made? I don't see Saka in that list. Do you remember Kevin Davies back in the day was the most fouled player and the player who made the most fouls.

"There are some players that play on the edge. I think Bruno is one of those and I think Ayew is one as well. I think Saka is genuinely the one who gets fouled because he's trying to be creative. Talented players will always be targeted."

Asked what more protection for Saka would look like, Keown added: "What they [Arsenal] are saying is they don't want a free pop at Saka because they will be losing their best talent. What you want is teams to do it by fair means and I think you can do that."

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In response, former Crystal Palace chairman Jordan claimed Arsenal's complaints are part of a wider culture at the club.

"Statistically if you do the most dribbles, which is what he's renowned for, then you're gonna get the most challenges," said Jordan.

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"I'm surprised that you, as a former defender, think that. I don't think they go over the top with Saka any more than they've gone over the top with other players.

"Ultimately, I think Arsenal are a busy bunch of sods as a football club. Their manager goes on television and gets away with a ridiculous rant under a rule that says he didn't criticise an individual - no he just criticised the entire refereeing fraternity.

"He used evidence about refereeing in Europe that was statistically and factually wrong. He got away with it. His club writes a letter doubling down on the ridiculousness of his behaviour and now they're writing letters to the PGMOL whining about their player getting a bit of physicality.

"I don't know what's going on with the game, it's a game for lightweights now. It's a physical game. Saka is a player that dwells on the ball and does well with the ball that's part of his game. He invites challenges so he's going to get more fouls.

"But statistically he doesn't, he gets less fouls and what you're doing is coming up with some ridiculous argument."

This sparked a heated back-and-forth between the two pundits either side of Jim White, which you can read below...

Keown: "If you were smart enough to look at the bigger picture, you'd recognise that he is being fouled the most but he's not getting the fouls. This is what they're saying."

Jordan: "How do you know that there aren't borderline challenges that Ayew was given a foul for?

"We know that by the nature of how many goals are being scored in the Premier League that this is now a game for attackers. They've got more insulation and more protection than they've ever had before.

"I'm amazed that you sit here in all good faith suggesting there isn't enough protection for players."

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Keown: "I think I'd like to see a little bit more where the players are running around going to the referee and saying 'look let's get protection now, let's sort it out'."

Jordan: "Maybe this sort of culture exhibits why Arsenal bottled it last year, which they did and they may well underachieve this year against a spend of £250million."