The Gunners star suffered Euro 2020 heartache with the Three Lions this summer, but his club boss sees a bright future
Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka is “fine” on the back of Euro 2020 penalty shootout heartache with England and expects the 19-year-old to take his game to even greater heights with Arsenal in 2021-22.
A talented teenager impressed for his country at a first senior international tournament, but missed a decisive spot-kick in an agonising final defeat to Italy that led to him becoming a target for trolls.
Saka has vowed not to let “hate” win, saying “I will not let this break me”, and his club manager believes there are plenty of positives to take from a steep learning curve.
What has been said?
Gunners boss Arteta has told Arsenal Media of Saka, who is now enjoying a well-earned break: “He’s fine.
“Obviously he had some tough days after what happened in the final but I think you have to look at the whole picture.
“This kid, at 19 years old, has played almost every game in the Premier League. He was our Player of the Season, I think he has earned the respect and admiration of everyone at the football club. But not only that, he’s gone to an international stage, he started the European competition with an injury and still he has managed to be in the starting XI.
“He reached the final and he couldn’t lift that trophy but I think he has a much bigger trophy than that, and that’s that now he really knows that in good and bad moments, everybody at the club, every Arsenal fan and every English fan is right behind him.
“He has earned that with his behaviour, his talent and with the way he is. That’s going to be there for the rest of his life. A trophy is there in the wardrobe and then you have to be the man in the next one. But what he has achieved and how he has united people is very powerful and he should be really, really proud of that.”
What’s next for Saka?
Saka, along with other international stars, will be absorbed back into the Arsenal fold later in pre-season, as the countdown continues to a Premier League opener against newly-promoted Brentford on August 13.
The Gunners will be looking to improve on their efforts from last season, when they missed out on European qualification, and home-grown stars will have a leading role to play in that quest.
Arteta added on the challenges being set for Saka on the back of a character-building experience with England: “I spoke to Gareth [Southgate] before the tournament and we all shared the same opinion on B that this kid is going to push everybody there, just the way he trains, the way he is, the way he competes.
“The maturity that he has shown at his age is pretty special, I have not seen many of those [with it] – and now he is going to have to cope with other things over the next year, it is going to be about expectations.
“Can he do it again? Can he raise his game again, can he improve, can he keep making better decisions, be more consistent, start to win more regularly? That is the thing that he needs to do at this very early stage in his career.”
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