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TAMMY ABRAHAM appeared to tell Bukayo Saka to ‘shut up’ after the Arsenal winger’s impressive goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win.
The Gunners ended a long winless streak with a clinical display against their London rivals.
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Saka, who at 19 became the Premier League’s second-youngest scorer in the match, sealed the victory with a cross shot that outscored Edouard Mendy.
Whether the winger was serious or not, only he knows, and the discussion seemed to rile Chelsea star Abraham on the final whistle.
As Saka spoke to her teammate Ainsley Maitland-Niles, television cameras caught the Blues forward walking past the pair and muttering a few words.
The eagle-eyed onlookers calculated that he said, “You didn’t mean it, shut up man.”
Abraham, naturally frustrated, continued to walk away as his colleagues in England shared a cheeky laugh.
Saka has since claimed the hit was what he intended, telling Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves that “of course” he meant it as he walked through the mixed zone at Emirates Stadium.
The young man then tweeted with a wink: “I saw him out of line!”
That comment prompted a response from another England teammate, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, who joked that he didn’t believe Saka for a second.
He posted on Twitter: “Ur a funny man [sic]! Liar.”
Arsenal fans were able to revel in their star man’s performance on Boxing Day, whether he intended to score his third goal or not.
First-half goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka sent the Gunners to their first national victory since November 1.
The victory significantly alleviated any concerns about the coming downhill and prepared Mikel Arteta for the decisive trips to Brighton and West Brom.
And Saka’s performance on the right wing was a real highlight with Sky expert Gary Neville naming him the man of the match.
The former defender said: “I loved his performance, he scored a goal at the beginning of the second half.
“Absolutely outstanding playing on that right side.
“He mainly had a defensive role in the second half after that goal, but he did well.
“We haven’t seen any of [Ben] Chilwell and that’s up to him. “
Saka told BBC Sport after the match that victory was a long time coming after a ‘complicated’ and ‘unfortunate’ spell for Arsenal.
It has been complicated, difficult, but we have overcome it and we are doing our best.
Bukayo Saka
He stated: “We feel that we are a good team that has been unlucky with the results and the red cards, but this is a big factor for our confidence.”
“It has been complicated, difficult, but we have overcome it and we are doing our best.
“We grew up together, all young players want to play and have a passion for this club. We want to make the fans happy.”
On the goal, he remarked: “I saw him out of his line so I thought I could give him a chip.”
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