At times it seemed as though the French players thought England's Bukayo Saka was the ball with the amount of times the Arsenal star was given a kicking during the World Cup quarter-final. The 21-year-old put in a tantalising display for the Three Lions terrorising Theo Hernandez and it soon became clear there was only way to stop him.
Saka was the most-fouled player in the game being felled on four separate occasions which included the illegal challenge committed by Aurelien Tchouameni, who had initially given France the lead, that led to Harry Kane equalising from the penalty spot.
The intent shown by Gareth Southgate's side to take the game to the world champions was epitomised by the performance of Saka who drove at the France defence at any opportunity he got.
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Saka was replaced straight after France's second goal with Raheem Sterling entering the pitch, a decision that caused a lot of confusion to many people watching including Jamie Redknapp. Perhaps though, to those Arsenal fans watching it home, it came as a relief with Saka taking a battering from France's defenders whenever he was on the ball.
Before the World Cup began, Saka was substituted against Nottingham Forest after getting a harsh kick to his leg and it was certainly a surprise that he didn't suffer a similar problem in England's game on Saturday night. Plenty has been said about Saka's treatment from opposition players, with Arteta giving a rather cryptic message following the Gunners' win over Wolves in November about Saka.
"The referees have the duties to deal with that, the better the players become the bigger target they become because people try and find ways to stop him, that is why football has very clear rules, what you can do and what you cannot do and that is the referees' job," he began before going on to add: " Yes, there is a part we can do better and we have to be more intelligent."
At the time Arteta was pushed to clarify what exactly he meant but he simply responded briefly: "I can't tell you that." While the true meaning of what the Arsenal boss meant may not ever be known, he has certainly been proven right on Saka, who was heavily targeted in England's clash with France.
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