- Rio Ferdinand was mobbed by Arsenal fans on board a flight to Porto this week
- The pundit joked with supporters as he reacted to the plane’s tannoy
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Rio Ferdinand jokingly hit back at Arsenal fans who saw him boarding a flight to Porto on Tuesday when he made a tannoy announcement after they egged him on over his comments about Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners faithful were furious last week when Ferdinand discussed Saka’s progress, saying he had not quite hit top gear in his career – despite his incredible season under Mikel Arteta.
Saka has 15 goals and 11 assists and is playing a crucial role in leading the club to the title this season. Many agree that he has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season.
But Ferdinand raised eyebrows with his claim that Saka was ‘not yet world class’ after scoring a brace in Arsenal’s 6-0 win over West Ham this month.
And after a handful of Arsenal fans noticed Ferdinand was sitting on the budget airline’s flight to Portugal – in the front row of the reserved seats – they couldn’t help but tease him with a rousing rendition of the chant ‘Saka’s world class’.
Rio Ferdinand was teased by Arsenal fans who saw him boarding a flight to Porto on Tuesday over comments he made about Bukayo Saka
Ferdinand jokingly hit back at the plane’s tannoy system as he stood by his claims
Ferdinand had stressed that Arsenal star Saka was not yet a world-class talent
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Footage shows fans poking fun at Ferdinand in full voice before zooming in on him in the front row as they chatted with a steward.
The ex-Man United defender later chose to confront the fans as he gave a tongue-in-cheek response to the plane’s tannoy system.
‘Hi guys, I just want to say it’s been an absolute pleasure traveling with you Arsenal fans.’
The supporters sat in the backseat and cheered as he continued: ‘I have to say that Saka is a fantastic player, just not world class yet.
“He will be one day, but not yet.”
Ferdinand posted a video of the meeting on his own Twitter page, writing: ‘Interesting @Ryanair flight with the Arsenal fans this morning…’
Ferdinand insisted that Saka would become world class a day after his impressive season
‘@Bukayo Saka is of the highest level… without a doubt! And will be ‘world class’.’
Speaking Vibe with FIVE last week, in the video that sparked controversy over Saka’s “world class” tag in the first place, Ferdinand said: “Not yet.” Listen, I think Saka has been unreal. I actually think he needs some rest, so many games for a young child.
“But I think it’s almost like what is world class? He didn’t do that in the Champions League, did he? I’m talking about the smallest phases,” he said.
“Saka’s top, don’t get me wrong. He’s not world class yet.’
After reaching the 50-goal milestone for Arsenal in the win over West Ham, Saka followed up that brace with another in their next match against Burnley, scoring a double in their 5-0 romp at Turf Moor.
Saka has scored 12 times in the league for the Gunners as a star in their title campaign
He has now scored six times in his last four games – the first time in his career he has scored in four consecutive games.
At 22, his manager Arteta says the England star is showing maturity beyond his years and was impressed to score his second goal with his weaker right foot.
“We tried to make our players unpredictable because opponents are watching us a lot and we have to find ways,” he said.
‘Bukayo has the ability and practices a lot in and around the box. Today he had two very good finishes.
‘You don’t really see that maturity at his age, especially not with attackers and wingers. It’s a very strange thing to find, but it’s a quality he has.’