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Micah Richards shares what he saw Bukayo Saka do right after he missed his penalty during Real Madrid vs Arsenal
Bukayo Saka was brilliant for Arsenal against Real Madrid.
The Englishman missed over three months of football due to a serious hamstring injury, and ever since he underwent surgery in December, he had his eye on returning for the quarter-final of the Champions League.
Saka worked really hard to get back to full fitness, and he performed brilliantly over the two legs against the European champions.
The Arsenal number seven scored a lovely goal at the Santiago Bernabeu to give his side the lead, but what happened earlier in that game blew Alan Shearer and Micah Richards away.
Alan Shearer and Micah Richards deliver verdict on Bukayo Saka’s missed penalty vs Real Madrid
Saka is Arsenal’s designated penalty taker.
The Gunners won a spot kick against Real Madrid in the first half after Mikel Merino was fouled by Raul Asencio during a corner.
Saka stepped up, but instead of smashing it into the back of the net, he tried a Panenka. Sadly, his effort was not down the middle, and Thibaut Courtois, who dived the right way, saved it comfortably.
Pundits usually criticise things like this, but Shearer, who knows a thing or two about scoring goals, was amazed that Saka had the courage to try that on the biggest stage in football.
He said on the Rest is Football podcast: “What about Saka, man? He’s like a mentality monster! He’s incredible!
“It’s not a good look when you miss, not at all, but for him to even think: ‘Actually, I’m in the quarter-final of the Champions League, I’m at the Bernabeu playing Real Madrid’ and you’ve got the guts to say ‘I’m just going to dink this!’ Really? Come on! (Shearer laughs).”
Richards then shared what he noticed after Saka missed his penalty. He said: “After he missed the penalty, he went back defending, and he just shanked the ball upfield with his right foot.
“I was thinking to myself: ‘Oh, his head’s gone, he needs to recover, he needs to recover ASAP!’
“And of course, mentality monster Saka steps up again. What a player!”
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has made a Panenka promise
Shearer is right, it takes a lot of courage to try a Panenka against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Yes, Arsenal had a 3-0 advantage at that point, but if the Galacticos had turned things around, the Gunners number seven would surely have received criticism.
Even though he missed, Saka is not afraid to try a Panenka again in the future.
“I’ll try it again. One day,” he said while speaking to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on CBS Sports after the game on Wednesday night.
That shows his elite mentality, and we won’t be surprised at all if he gets it right the next time.
Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain next in the Champions League. Saka scored against them the last time the two sides met. It will be interesting to see how he will fare this time.