Arsenal Newsnow: Despite his key miss against West Ham on Sunday, Mikel Arteta has said that Bukayo Saka would continue to take penalties for Arsenal.

Saka missed a penalty kick with Arsenal leading 2-1. Soon after, Hammers striker Jarrod Bowen scored to further humiliate their London opponents. The draw brings Arsenal’s lead over Manchester City down to four points with one game in hand.

Saka has expressed regret to Arsenal supporters for the missed penalty. Even though Arteta’s confidence in the 21-year-old’s penalty-taking skills was shaken after his shot in England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy was saved, he still considers himself a good penalty-taker.

What did Mikel Arteta say about Bukayo Saka missing penalty?

“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,” Arteta told reporters. 

Saka, despite his advanced years, is still considered Arsenal’s star player. The attacker has been voted the club’s Player of the Season for the last two seasons running. He is having another outstanding season, with 12 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League.

Saka sent an Instagram apology to the club’s supporters after he missed a penalty kick from 12 yards out on Sunday. He wrote: “Regardless of the outcome, I’ll always accept my responsibility. Apologies Gunners, I’ll do everything I can to make it right.”

Former Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette also reached out, joining the likes of Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Magalhaes who commented with words of encouragement on his Instagram post. Current skipper Martin Odegaard wrote: “All together bro always, we keep going.”

On Sunday, Saka missed his first penalty in the Premier League after making his previous four tries successful. He had previously scored past Edouard Mendy, David de Gea, Alisson, and Ederson. Saka has been supported by Arteta to recover from the error and help Arsenal down the stretch.

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Arsenal Newsnow: What’s next for the Gunners?

If Arsenal can win their last seven games in the Premier League, they will be champions. Man City is in a similar position with eight games remaining. On Wednesday, April 26, all eyes will be on Arsenal as they go to the Etihad. They’re calling it a “championship or bust” game for good reason.

“If you are prepared to take responsibility of penalties, you have to be prepared that in that package the possibility to miss is 100 per cent,” noted Arteta. 

He added: “At some point, you’re going to miss. You have to be able to react to that after. If you cannot do that then you cannot be a penalty taker. Bukayo has been through that and he will go through that again.”

Social media users were racist against Saka after Sunday’s game, just as they were after the Euro 2020 final almost two years ago. According to Mirror Football’s sources, Arsenal is collaborating with IT professionals to track out the culprits.

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