Considering the accolades and positivity that Bukayo Saka gained from his first ever international tournament, where he was one of the stand-out performers in the star studded England team, it could not have been nice for him to come home to see racist comments directed at him from lowlife scum on social media.
Arsenal fans though can only be proud of the way he performed in the last month, and his bravery at stepping up to take the fifth and final penalty for England.
His achievements were acknowledged on the official Arsenal website, but they also admitted their sorrow that a great tournament had to end on such a bad note. They have promised to support our young star and can only hope it doesn’t have a lasting effect on the humble starlet.
The statement from Arsenal reads….
Bukayo has been with us since he was seven and the whole club couldn’t have been prouder to see him represent England throughout the tournament. You could feel it right across the club.
Last night we witnessed the leadership and character we’ve always known and loved in Bukayo. However, this feeling of pride quickly turned to sorrow at the racist comments our young player was subjected to on his social media platforms after the final whistle.
Once again, we are sad to have to say we condemn the racism towards a number of black players. This cannot continue and the social media platforms and authorities must act to ensure this disgusting abuse to which our players are subjected on a daily basis stops now.
We have processes in place internally at Arsenal to ensure our players are supported both emotionally and practically on this issue but sadly there is only so much we can do.
Our message to Bukayo is: hold your head high, we are so very proud of you and we cannot wait to welcome you back home to Arsenal soon.
Saka has performed excellently, but we do still have to realise that he is still only 19 years old, so although he has gained invaluable experience of top level football, he may still have quite a few life lessons to learn.
When he makes his next appearance at the Emirates, I hope he gets the warmest welcome ever and can take his mind off the mindless trolls and keyboard warriors that thrive on upsetting people. We need to let his know that these people are in a minority…