Sky Pundit Says Newcastle Winger Was 'Fortunate' to Remain on the Pitch During Huddersfield Win

Paul Merson reckons Kenedy was very lucky to remain on the pitch during Newcastle's clash with Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

Rafa Benitez's side emerged 1-0 winners, with Ayoze Perez scoring the game's only goal in the 80th minute. But the match wasn't without incident as Kenedy would find himself involved in two regrettable situations.

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The Chelsea loanee went into a studs up challenge that left Town's Elias Kachunga injured after catching him right above the ankle. He also got into a heated row with Scott Malone in which he threw his head forward.

Merson, a Sky Sports pundit, has since branded the Brazilian "fortunate," with him having escaped a possible red card.

"I thought Kenedy was fortunate," the former Arsenal man said on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday (as quoted by the Huddersfield Examiner)

"First on Kachunga with his studs - it was not a great tackle. And then he squared up with Malone and went forward with his head.

"He was lucky he never went down - if he had gone down and started rolling around I think he would have gone, so he was fortunate there."

Meanwhile, another ex-Gunner - Ian Wright - has lauded Kenedy's decision to head to Newcastle, claiming he would have done anything to get the chance to play there as a youngster.

“For me, Newcastle is the kind of place that, if you’re a young player at a club like a Chelsea or a Manchester City, I would do anything to get to somewhere like Newcastle,” he declared.

“You’re playing in front of massive crowds and you’ve got the opportunity to play in the Premier League and get that kind of support behind you.

“Kenedy has done it - and he’s thriving on it, absolutely thriving on it.”