PEA’S gonna go on a roll says Saka
BUKAYO SAKA is backing Pierre-emerick Aubameyang to go on a scoring spree after bagging his first Premier League hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leeds on Sunday.
They were his first goals in almost a month after taking time off to care for his ill mother.
Arsenal now face Benfica over two legs in the Europa League with Manchester City at home in between and Saka reckons their captain’s confidence will be sky-high again.
He said: “He is amazing. I can’t speak highly enough of him. He showed everyone how much quality he has.
“When he gets a chance he is going to put it away. He can do everything so we are so happy to have him.
“It’s good that he got a hat-trick for his confidence. We have a big week ahead and we hope he can score some more goals for us.”
Aubameyang has 11 goals this season but only five had come in the league before Sunday.
Arsenal went into the Leeds game at a low ebb having lost at Aston Villa and Wolves but Saka believes the big weekend win could be a turning point.
He added: “I hope so. The last two games I thought we were quite unlucky. To get this one over the line, get the win, it sets us up for quite a tough week and gives us a lot of confidence.”
Saka is absolutely flying in a right-wing role. He has four goals and three assists in his last nine games but puts it down to having older heads like Aubameyang around to guide him.
He said: “It’s perfect, because as a young player you get experience around you and people to guide you when things aren’t going well.”
HARRISON REED has promised his Fulham team-mates he will get on the scoresheet soon.
But, in the meantime, he is happy to let others take the credit.
Reed, 26, has yet to find the back of the net in more than 18 months for the Cottagers.
His last goal came in January 2019, when the midfielder scored for Blackburn while on loan from Southampton.
But Reed came very close to scoring at Goodison on Sunday when his drive rebounded off the post to hand Josh Maja a tap-in for his second goal in the 2-0 win over Everton. He said: “I was close. I have been telling everyone in training I am going to start scoring goals and chipping in.
“I thought it was going in but the keeper pushed it onto the post and it was great to see Josh with another easy tap-in. That’s his job, so perfect.”
That was Fulham’s first win in 13 leagues games – and only their third of what has been a tough season.
But Reed has never stopped believing, saying: “That win had been coming for weeks.
“It was only a matter of time before we started to score.”
Fulham’s next test in the Premier League comes at Burnley tomorrow.
Clarets boss Sean Dyche will be without Ben Mee after concussion protocols ruled out the defender.
Mee suffered a head injury in a clash with Crystal Palace striker Jordan Ayew on Saturday.
And while Dyche insisted the player was “fine”, the Burnley manager accepted that medical protocols are right to err on the side of caution.
“He’s fine in himself but we understand why the protocols are there, to safeguard the players,” said Dyche.
The Clarets captain left the field on a stretcher late in the second half with an oxygen mask fitted after Ayew’s elbow appeared to catch him.
“The medical teams have to be cautious but it was a strange one, because five minutes later he came walking up behind me while we were watching the game,” said Dyche.
“He’s fine and he has been ever since but six days is the precautionary timescale they use.
“They had to look at the footage and decide whether he went out so we’ll have to go with the medical protocols.”
Burnley’s Erik Pieters and Matej Vydra are also injury doubts for the game.