Mikel Arteta has confirmed Bukayo Saka will continue taking penalties for Arsenal after his crucial miss against West Ham on Sunday.
With Arsenal 2-1 up, Saka missed from the spot. The Hammers went on to punish their London rivals, with Jarrod Bowen scoring moments later. The 2-2 draw means Arsenal are now just four points ahead of Manchester City having played a game more.
Saka has apologised for Arsenal fans for missing the penalty. It's not the first time the 21-year-old has missed from the spot - as his effort in the Euro 2020 final for England against Italy was saved - but Arteta has not lost faith in his penalty-taking ability.
"If I had to pick one player to do it, it would be him again," Arteta told reporters. "In that moment we missed it and this is football."
Despite his age, Saka is recognised as Arsenal's talisman. The forward has been named as the club's Player of the Season in each of the last two years and is enjoying another superb campaign - scoring 12 goals and providing 10 assists in the Premier League.
Saka apologised to the club's fans on Instagram for missing from 12 yards on Sunday. The England international wrote: "Regardless of the outcome, I’ll always accept my responsibility. Apologies Gunners, I’ll do everything I can to make it right."
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The likes of Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Magalhaes replied to his Instagram post with messages of support, while former Arsenal captain Alexandre Lacazette also reached out. Current skipper Martin Odegaard wrote: "All together bro always, we keep going."
Sunday was the first time Saka has missed a penalty in the Premier League - beating Edouard Mendy, David de Gea, Alisson and Ederson in his other four attempts. Arteta has backed Saka to bounce back from the miss ahead of Arsenal's run in.
The Gunners will win the Premier League title if they can win their last seven games. Man City, who have eight games left, are in a similar situation. All eyes will be on Arsenal's trip to the Etihad on Wednesday, April 26. The game is being billed as a title decider.
"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. "At some point you're going to miss.
"You have 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."
Saka was subjected to racism on social media after Sunday's game, nearly two years after facing similar vile abuse following the Euro 2020 final. Mirror Football understands that Arsenal are working with technology experts to identify these individuals.
