Souness brands Saka a 'cheat' after Arsenal's win at Nottingham Forest

Graeme Souness has launched a pointed public attack on Bukayo Saka, accusing the Arsenal and England forward of simulation and labelling him a “cheat” in the wake of Arsenal’s 1-0 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

Souness made the comments on Piers Morgan’s Football Uncensored, arguing that Saka goes to ground too easily and that Arsenal players collectively pressure referees into overturning their initial decisions. “Your man Saka dives all over the place,” Souness said. “The minute he looks like losing possession, he’s down. He simulates a foul. Anyone who simulates a foul in my book would be a cheat.”

The former Liverpool captain elaborated on what he sees as a pattern of behaviour, describing how Saka screams as he falls, stays down, and is then surrounded by Arsenal teammates appealing loudly — causing referees to second-guess correct calls. “The referee at that point panics and blows his whistle when it wasn’t a foul,” Souness said. “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 was careful to place the issue in a wider context, stopping short of singling Saka out as uniquely culpable. “Simulation is a form of cheating, yes. But it’s all over football today,” he said. “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.”

The criticism arrives with some statistical backdrop. Saka is the second-most fouled player in the Premier League this season with 21 fouls drawn, behind only Elliot Anderson on 23 — a figure that cuts both ways in the debate over whether he invites or earns that contact.

This is not the first time Saka’s movement under pressure has drawn scrutiny. During Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich in 2024, he went to ground after contact from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, though referee Glenn Nyberg waved away the appeals.

Arsenal face Bayern Munich again in the Champions League on Wednesday, before returning to Premier League action against Everton on Saturday.