Mikel Arteta has defended Bukayo Saka after he missed a costly penalty during Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at West Ham on Sunday.
Arsenal raced into a two-goal lead at the London Stadium after just 10 minutes courtesy of goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard but were surprisingly pegged back after giving away a sloppy penalty.
The momentum of the game shifted in West Ham’s favour after that but the Gunners had the chance to restore their two-goal cushion soon after the break when they were awarded a penalty of their own for a handball from Michail Antonio.
Saka as per usual stepped up, but skewed his spot-kick wide of the post with Jarrod Bowen equalising for the Irons just minutes later.
It is the first time in his club career that the England winger has failed to score from the spot, and only the second-time in his entire senior career – the first being the decisive miss against Italy in the Euro 2020 final penalty shootout.
The 21-year-old has been near-faultless all season but the match against West Ham really was a day to forget, but while Arteta was critical of his team post-match he did not blame his talisman one bit for the result.
‘A player who takes penalties misses penalties, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t,’ the manager told Sky Sports.
‘If I had to pick one player to do it, it would be him again. In that moment we missed it and this is football,’ he added in his post-match press conference.
The result means the Gunners’ lead over Manchester City in the title-race is just four points, having played a game more than the Citizens.
Arsenal have now blown a two-goal lead in their last two games, having capitulated in a similar fashion at Liverpool last Sunday and many wonder if the pressure of the title race is getting to the young team.
Arteta refutes that theory however, adding: ‘I would say yes if I saw a team playing from the beginning like [tenses and holds his breath].
‘When I see a team playing with that flow, that’s not. At 2-0 certainly it’s not the pressure, it’s that we misunderstood what the game needed in that moment.’
If Arsenal want to win their first league title since 2004 they must get back on track in their next game at home against bottom of the table Southampton on Friday.
MORE : ‘Self-inflicted!’ – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink slams Arsenal after costly draw at West Ham
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