Ian Wright praised Bukayo Saka for his ‘fantastic penalty’ during Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, as he told Premier League Productions (20/04/22 at 10:15 pm).
The Highbury legend added that Saka showcased great ‘composure’ during that moment because he was ‘under huge pressure’ because of what happened at Euro 2020 with England.
It was Saka’s missed penalty that handed over the European Championship title to Italy and it was a moment that would have been very hard to deal with for the youngster.
England boss Gareth Southgate was in that very same position at Euro 96, so he would have known how Saka felt at that very moment.
But, what followed that game, the racist abuse aimed at players like Saka, was just an example of how social media has allowed certain idiots to run their mouths behind a screen.
Nonetheless, last night’s game at the Bridge, was the first time Saka stood in front of a penalty since those Wembley woes, as Wright praised him for showing character.
“Fantastic penalty,” said Wright. “When you talk about what he has been through, with penalties and how to take them.
“With all the melee and what was going on before it. He has shown great composure and he has stuck it away. And that is a magnificent result for us.
“I was really happy for him because he was under a lot of pressure for that penalty and he took it brilliantly.”
That was a quite momentous win for Mikel Arteta and his players because it puts them back on the front foot in the race to secure Champions League football.
After three worrying defeats on the bounce, the mood around north London wasn’t exactly rosy.
But players like Eddie Nketiah, Martin Odegaard, Saka and Granit Xhaka stepped up against Chelsea.
Now it’s a case of going on another run because they face out-of-sorts Manchester United at the Emirates next.
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