Mikel Arteta backs Bukayo Saka to respond after Arsenal winger missed a penalty against West Ham
‘If I had to pick one player to do it, it would be him again’: Mikel Arteta backs Bukayo Saka to respond after Arsenal’s winger missed in draw against West Ham
- Mikel Arteta insists he will stay with Bukayo Saka as Arsenal’s penalty taker
- Saka missed from the spot as Arsenal dropped points in a draw with West Ham
- Arsenal are four points ahead of Manchester City, who have played a game more
Mikel Arteta has backed Bukayo Saka to step up and take Arsenal’s next penalty after the winger missed a crucial penalty in Sunday’s draw against West Ham.
Saka had a chance to put Arsenal 3-1 up seven minutes after Mikhail Antonio’s handball, but missed his first penalty since the Euro 2020 final with England.
Two minutes later, West Ham completed their 2–0 comeback with Jarrod Bowen earning a point for David Moyes’ side.
Saka’s could prove to be a crucial miss in the title race as Arsenal are now just four points ahead of Manchester City with a game more.
But Arteta insisted: ‘If I had to pick one player to do it, it would be him again. At that moment we missed it and this is football.’
Mikel Arteta has backed Bukayo Saka to react after missing a penalty against West Ham
Arteta will keep faith in Saka as Arsenal’s leading penalty taker, despite his miss from the spot
The manager added that Saka needs to bounce back in “the same way the team needs to respond.”
He said: “If you are willing to take responsibility for penalties, you have to be prepared that in that package the possibility of missing is 100 per cent. At some point you will miss it.
‘You have to be able to respond to that afterwards. If you can’t, you can’t be a penalty taker. Bukayo has experienced that and he will experience it again.’
This draw means West Ham are now four points clear of the relegation zone – with one game to go against many of their rivals – and manager David Moyes praised his players’ ‘effort’ and ‘character’ in pinning back the league leaders .
West Ham boss David Moyes was pleased with the courage his side showed against Arsenal
“We are happy, the players are happy, because it was a great result. Of course you want to win, but a draw today, especially after being 2-0 down, is an excellent result,” he said.
Moyes admitted he feared for his side after they trailed by two goals within 10 minutes.
However, after Saka sent his penalty wide, the West Ham boss thought his side could have won the match.
“Anytime you’re 2-0 behind a team that’s leading the league, you say, ‘My god, this could work against us,'” he said.
“We got that bit of luck with the missed penalty and we continued to grow and we climbed up the pitch and scored. After that there were periods when I was quite excited that we would get a third.’
