Bukayo Saka refuses to answer Rio Ferdinand’s st*pid question: ‘I don’t want to say anything rash because I know you don’t like us’
Bukayo Saka did not want to pick the perfect opponent for the Champions League last 16 after Arsenal advanced in dramatic circumstances.
It has been 14 years since the Gunners were last in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top competition, but they overcame the deficit from the first meeting with a penalty shootout victory over Porto. Arsenal were 1-0 down on Tuesday night, but Leandro Trossard equalised with a first-half goal.
But the goals failed to materialise and the game went to penalties, where David Raya was the hero with two goals to secure the 4-2 victory. This means Arsenal will face Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and PSG in the playoffs.
Rio Ferdinand asked Sak if he wanted a tough game or if he would rather pick one of the supposedly weaker teams to help his chances of finishing in the last four. The Arsenal winger smiled and said on TNT Sports: “I don’t want to say anything rash” and avoided answering.
Currently, with the exception of PSG and Arsenal, all four other teams already in the quarter-finals have won this competition in the last decade. Borussia Dortmund have yet to face PSV, while Atletico Madrid will take on Inter Milan, the Italian league leaders.
Arsenal, even when it was a Champions League regular, failed to make a serious breakthrough in the tournament. The last time they reached the semi-finals was in 2009, when they lost to Manchester United, and their only final appearance was in 2006.
Mikel Arteta’s team is one of the dark horses of Europe, with several big names like Bayern and PSG failing to reach the level they have achieved in the past.
The Spaniard said after leading North London to the Round of 16: “Incredible, we want to be there. We’ve been patient, we’ve worked hard, a lot of people have made good decisions and shown courage in difficult moments, and that’s where you want to be.”
He added: “So happy. It’s been 14 years, which is a long time for a club like Arsenal and it shows how difficult it has been. We really had to work hard to find that magic moment at the end. We started to create an incredible energy in the stadium, we all worked hard to make it happen and together we did it.”
