Bukayo Saka has endured a turbulent few years but has now enjoyed an inspiring redemption after the disappointment of Euro 2020.
Arsenal star Saka has been the target of unfair criticism and criticism so many times during his short but meteoric career.
On Saturday night he was the hero as England came from behind to beat Switzerland on penalties at Euro 2024. But the last few years have certainly not been easy for him.
Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was likely to be the biggest test of character Saka will face in his entire career.
Few will forget his involvement in the decisive penalty shootout in the final against Italy, when his decisive penalty was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma, giving Italy the European title.
Although the disappointment of the event was the greatest and he would suffer from it for a long time in any case, it was the horrible racist abuse directed at him, but also at Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, who also missed penalties, that really hurt him.
The torrent of racist abuse was utterly appalling and led to campaigns from England, and Arsenal in particular, in support of the then 19-year-old.
In the three years that followed, Saka was on the rise. Today, he is one of the best players in the world and has twice been named England Footballer of the Year. But how did he bounce back from such a low point?
A home final in Europe under the famous Wembley arch, an entire nation watching with anticipation, albeit through their fingers.
An Italian goal midway through the second half demolished an early Luke Shaw strike, sending the game into extra time. Eventually, tension mounted in both sets of fans and penalties awaited.
As is so often the case for the national team, the shootout was a complete disappointment for England. All three of England’s last three penalties were saved or missed. The decisive penalty, taken by Saka, was saved by Donnarumma.
While much of the country was overwhelmed with disappointment, for some the only way to express their grief was through torrents of hideous racist insults. Saka was the main, but not the only, target.
It would have been understandable and easy for Saka to allow the abuse to drag him down, cloud his mind and affect his performances, but in a true display of his character, he did the exact opposite.
Arsenal fans backed him and showed him tremendous support in the months that followed. Saka translated their positivity into excellent performances on the pitch and quickly cemented his position as one of the Premier League’s best players.
The following season, Saka scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in the Premier League, and remained a key member of Mikel Arteta’s team.
This was no one-hit wonder, however, as he scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists the following season. In the most recent season, his total rose to 16 goals and nine assists. This is a truly exceptional performance, which he has been delivering consistently since the 2020 European Championship.
Since that fateful day at Euro 2020, however, Saka has been involved not only in goals but also in penalty kicks, making him one of Arsenal and England’s most reliable penalty takers.
In the years since his devastating miss, Saka has failed to score just one of his 15 penalties, giving him a conversion rate of 93 percent – an astonishing record considering that That The incident has undoubtedly haunted him ever since.
His club form is one thing, but Saka has also excelled on the international stage since the disappointing 2020 European Championship, also winning two ‘English Footballer of the Year’ awards.
Saka was recently the hero for England as they came from behind to eventually beat Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. In the match, Saka scored England’s equaliser late in the game with a superb curling strike from outside the penalty area, and also converted his penalty in the shootout – the perfect way to complete his redemptive run since the Euro 2020 final.
Although Saka still receives criticism, he is a force to be reckoned with in football. He is one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s roster and is also one of the best, if not the best, wingers in the Premier League.
His likeable nature and strong mentality make him almost impossible not to like, no matter who you support. His journey since Euro 2020 serves as an inspiration, allowing incredible stories and comebacks to emerge from the deepest of valleys.
