“As a defender, he’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced in the premier league. I hate to come up against him because he will never allow me to breath even for a second”- Newcastle Defender Dan Burn names Arsenal star as the toughest opponent he has faced in his career

“As a defender, he’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced in the premier league. I hate to come up against him because he will never allow me to breath even for a second”- Newcastle Defender Dan Burn names Arsenal star as the toughest opponent he has faced in his career

Dan Burn names the toughest Premier League opponent he has faced, he was in no doubt

Newcastle star Dan Burn has named the toughest player he has faced throughout his career in the Premier League.

Before his move to St James’ Park in January 2022, Burn played in the top division of English football for both Fulham and Brighton.

But while the tall defender was making his way in senior football during his time at Craven Cottage – Burn played nine games as Fulham were relegated under Felix Magath in 2014 – his time at Brighton was a different story.

Burn helped Newcastle secure survival under Eddie Howe after his arrival on Tyneside, before playing all 38 games last season – largely as a left-back – as the Magpies finished in third place.

As a result, the 31-year-old has faced some of the top players in English football during his career. But who does he rate as the best?

The defender took little time to give an answer while speaking on Ben Foster’s Fozcast – Arsenal star Bukayo Saka.

He explained: “Saka, always.

“He’s very, very good. Because now it’s constant, you play against inverted wingers. So 20 years ago, you’d play against a right footer [at left-back], show him that side and cross it, but it’s not the end of the world.

“Whereas now you’re playing against wingers who, if you send them inside, they’ll come inside, they’ll shoot.

“You’re like, ‘Right, I’ll cover that’, then they take it down the line and cross it anyway.

“I think Saka’s up there for me as the most consistent.”

Although the Arsenal and England star proved to be a tricky customer for Burn, he doesn’t have a great record against Newcastle since the defender joined the club in 2022.

Saka didn’t score or provide an assist in any of those four games, in which Arsenal drew one and lost two.

But the Gunners did secure a superb 2-0 win at St James’ Park last season, a game in which Saka played the full 87 minutes.

And after a 0-0 draw between the two sides in December, Burn admitted that the Magpies had to double up on the Arsenal winger to stop him from having a major influence on the game.