The French media have delivered their verdict on Bukayo Saka after watching Arsenal crash out of the Champions League following a 3-1 aggregate semi-final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night. With neither club having previously won a major European title, PSG now move one step closer to ending that drought, as they prepare to face Inter Milan in the final in Munich on May 31. A win would make them only the second Ligue 1 team in history to lift the Champions League trophy.
Saka managed to score late on at the Parc des Princes, but it wasn’t enough to spark a tense finale in the City of Lights. Goals earlier in the night from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi made it a fairly smooth ride for Les Parisiens. Still, his efforts to try salvage something from Arsenal’s campaign didn’t go unnoticed by the French press.
Now regarded as one of the top wingers in world football, the overwhelming feeling by those who witnessed some of Saka's spark in midweek is that at least he was putting the effort in, and the same can't be said about his teammates, who left him along to struggle in a congested and well-drilled Parisian defensive third.
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Saka
Saka may not have been fully fit, but that didn’t stop him from making his presence felt across the English Channel on Wednesday night. In the early stages of the first-half, he got the better of Nuno Mendes and looked sharp, but his overall impact was soon stifled as PSG began to double - and at times triple - up on him, with little support arriving from his teammates.
He did manage to find the net late on, though he also squandered one of the clearest chances he’s likely to see for a while. Still, the French media didn’t come down hard on the 24-year-old. Instead of criticism, their coverage largely reflected appreciation for a player who gave everything but ultimately came up short. MaxiFoot rated him 7/10 and said:
“The right winger was Arsenal’s best player. In almost all the good moments, the Englishman made a lot of difference in his outbursts. Donnarumma diverted his shot, which was heading towards the top corner, but he was rewarded for his efforts by scoring the Gunners’ only goal in this game. He came close to the double a few minutes later, but he was surprised to see the ball land on his foot in front of the empty goal.”
Homme du Match also handed Saka a 7/10 and continued: “A fairly complicated match for the English winger. Facing Mendes, he struggled to gain the upper hand one-on-one. He still tried to accelerate, overflow, dribble and cross. 15 minutes from time, he revived the suspense a little by scoring a somewhat lucky goal, but missed a huge opportunity a few minutes later.”
While L'Equipe were a little less sympathetic to the Englishman - giving him a 5/10 - they made no remarks of note about his performance, whereas Footmercato handed him a 6/10 and wrote:
“Once again, Bukayo Saka seemed too alone offensively at Arsenal. The young winger provoked a lot, centred a lot, without finding a target, like on this ball which flew past Merino."
They continued: “He stumbled against the Italian goalkeeper on a well-hit shot, but was rewarded after a cross from Trossard, deflected by the Parisian defence, led to Saka eliminating Donnarumma. He even came close to equalising but completely missed the empty goal after a failed exit from the Parisian goalkeeper.”
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore (correct as of 08/05/2025)