MY ACCOUNT
Mikel Arteta hailed Bukayo Saka after he stepped up and scored his first penalty since missing in the Euro 2020 final for England.
Saka, 20, converted from the spot to round off Arsenal’s crucial 4-2 win at Chelsea in stoppage time as they ended a run of three straight defeats.
Arteta revealed he did not know who was going to take the spot kick with Alexandre Lacazette off the pitch — but felt it showed just how the mature the Gunners youngster is.
The Spanish coach, 40, said: “I thought that Gabi [Martinelli] was going to take it.
“When I saw that Bukayo took it, honestly, my first thing that I thought was back in the summer and what happened.
“But again, I said to you guys, when that happened to Bukayo, that happened for a reason and he learned so much and he matured so much, that’s why he’s having the season that he’s had.
“For him to have the courage to say ‘I’m going to take it again’ because I’m sure it was in the back of his mind, for me it’s ‘chapeau’ even if he had missed it.”
The result moves Arteta’s men level on points with North London rivals Tottenham in the battle for fourth spot.
Both sides have six games left to play, including a potentially pivotal meeting on May 12, and ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp was impressed with the response from the Gunners.
Redknapp, 48, said: “When you go away and you get goals and you create chances it’s so important for your confidence.
“I do like what I saw from Arsenal. They’ve shown a bit of character. Saka, [Eddie] Nketiah and [Emile] Smith Rowe have that devilment in the way they play.
“It’s a big result, it makes it wide open again. I think if they’d lost today, it would have been too much for Arsenal to come back from four losses on the spin. They’re right back in this race.”
The Gunners host Manchester United — only three points behind having played a game more — on Saturday, while Spurs visit in-form Brentford.
