THANKS, GARETH
Arteta says Southgate was spot-on in his help for Saka
BY
MIKEL ARTETA has praised Gareth Southgate for turning Bukayo Saka from Euro 2020 shootout flop to Arsenal’s No.1 penalty-taker.
Saka missed the final kick to hand Italy victory in last summer’s European Championship finals.
It sparked a torrent of racist abuse on social media, which Saka later revealed he expected the moment his shot was saved.
Even Gunners boss Arteta admitted at the time the incident had left a “scar” which he needed to use to drive him on to bigger things.
And after scoring from the spot in back-to-back wins against Chelsea and Manchester United, Arteta has promoted him to main penalty-taker even if club captain Alexandre Lacazette is back in the team.
“Against West Ham, if someone has to take a penalty I think he will take it again but it happened quite naturally in the Chelsea game,” said Arteta. “He took it and the next game we had another one.” His comeback shows tremendous fortitude for a player who does not turn 21 until September and Arteta was keen to praise his England manager for helping in the necessary rehabilitation.
“The first two conversations I had with him were straight after the incident but Gareth Southgate was really helpful as well because he had Bukayo in his hands,” said Arteta.
“They were really caring and really supportive of him so by the time he joined us he was already in a really good place.”
At the same time, Arteta believes that by giving him the Arsenal penalty responsibilities it will help develop Saka on the international stage, along with the club’s other young England lions, such as Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Emile Smith Rowe.
Saka is expected to be fit to play at the London Stadium after limping out of the Manchester United game and with the pressure on for a Champions League place, that will only add to his education.
“International level is something very different but the players have the maturity and capacity to sustain that level under pressure because they are doing it every week in their clubs,” said Arteta. “They are already key and important players in their clubs so they are used to it.”