‘A hero’: Thierry Henry makes claim about £30,000-a-week Arsenal ace

Follow us on Google Discover

Thierry Henry has lavished praise on Arsenal academy product Bukayo Saka for the courage he displayed during the summer.

Saka missed the all-important penalty for England in the final of the European Championships.

Missing handed victory to Italy at Wembley.

The Arsenal winger – who was only 19 at the time – received a torrent of abuse online after failing to score his effort.

But Gunners icon Henry has claimed that even stepping up and making himself available to take one makes him a ‘hero’.

He told GQ: “I know Bukayo, so I dropped him a line to tell him that actually for me, you going to present yourself to take that penalty, you are a hero,” the 44-year-old added.

“I didn’t [care] actually, him scoring or not scoring. Even the courage to go in there, to go and take the penalty at his age, for me he’s a hero”

Character

Indeed, Saka did indeed showcase his cojones in a major way against the Italians.

For such a young player to show that sort of character was truly massive, even if it ended in heartbreak for Gareth Southgate, England players and, well, the nation as a whole.

This season, Saka has bounced back and has been performing well for Arsenal.

The 20-year-old is a first-team regular under Mikel Arteta and in September, scored a third goal in a demolition of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.

Earning £30,000 per week, Saka is on the low end of the salary spectrum at Arsenal, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earning 10 times as much – £300,000.

However, longer-term, Saka is a bonafide, rising star of football – missing that penalty notwithstanding – and it’s undeniable that he’s going to be earning a lot more over the coming years.