As soon as Bukayo Saka stepped forward I said out loud “nooo”. I didn’t want him to take this penalty because it wasn’t just a penalty, it was 55 years of pain and suffering. It was the burden of an entire nation, which has suffered through 18 months of pandemic, has endured the ructions of Brexit, and the political and financial upheaval of those two seismic events, all on the shoulders of a player who I care for.
And after he missed, yeah, I was angry. Angry at Southgate for letting that young man take the fifth penalty and for bringing on Sancho and Rashford to take pens when they’d had almost no playing time in this tournament. Those two players had been treated almost like an afterthought by Southgate. Angry at the other England players who didn’t step up to take the penalty instead. And angry at the people who I knew were going to abuse these players after the match.
But it was a statement by Marcus Rashford which gave me the clarity I needed. It was the simple phrase “Your success is my success. Your failures are mine.” which brought me back. Southgate and the team would have known who were the best penalty takers and those three young men must have been three of the best. Taking a penalty is a skill and not everyone has that skill. So, it’s unfair for me to be angry that others didn’t step up or that Southgate chose those three. Instead of blaming and getting angry I realized that what Saka, Rashford, and Sancho did was all part of the team’s plan and that they were incredibly brave.
Especially Saka. He had to take the fifth and decisive penalty, right after Pickford had made a save. I can’t imagine what he must have been feeling at that moment. I don’t think I could have taken that penalty. Not in a million years.
We are lucky to have Saka at Arsenal. He’s mature beyond his years. He’s a gentle and brave soul, full of laughter and joy. He’s a treasure and we all should treat him as such.
So many moments could be the defining image of the tournament but for me it has to be Bukayo Saka on an inflatable unicorn. That was a moment of pure joy and I hope he takes that with him forever.
The image for me was Kalvin Phillips running into the sea of Italian blue that washed past Saka, to be the first to hug and comfort him. Gooners should give him a standing ovation when Leeds comes to the Emirates.
What about that Marcus Rashford, though? The guy is 23. Twenty-three. And has a gift of empathetic expression that I’ve rarely seen in a sportsman. And he does so much off the field. I dont like United, never will. But their Number 10 is a footballing treasure.
You nailed it on twitter, in response to his eloquent post-match post, Tim. “Im a 50 year old man and I look up to you.”
Tyrone Mings also rose to the occasion. You cant disrespect taking the knee and excuse the booing of it, he told the Home Secretary, and then decry the racism which makes us take the knee in the first place.
Im really proud of those young fellas.
And btw, Im proud of the Arsenal squad for showing Saka so much love on social media. Even Mustafi put an arm around him.
The game brought out the worst in some, as Greg described so well last post. But it also brought out what was good and beautiful in others.
(p.s. you know what no one is talking about? The quality of Luke Shaw’s strike. That is normally a slice into Row G)
How about the quality of Luke Shaw full stop.
If he keeps it up and Sancho finds his bundesliga form, Utd will be some proposition this season.
Tim, Bukayo on that unicorn is indeed a moment of pure joy. Perhaps exaggerated because I’m an Arsenal fan but it also felt intimate, very appropo to Luke Shaw’s wanting to adopt him as his son
You can praise Rashford, Sancho and Saka for being brave and willing to take the shots, but in the end that’s Southgate’s lack of leadership letting them take the pks. It’s akin to Emery allowing the team to vote Xhaka as captain, rather than exercising authority and picking his choice and then taking the bullets.
I could tell who was going to score by the look on their faces as they walked up. Those three just emanated tension. Who throws guys on for 1 minute just to take kicks? At least give them 5-10 minutes to break a sweat and get rid of some nervous energy. And if Grealish and Sterling really did offer to take kicks, you don’t cast their experience aside in favour of kids who did better in low-pressure training settings. Leave Henderson on – he’s proven that he’s got the mental strength to deliver in clutch situations.
Southgate gets a lot of undeserved credit in my opinion – for all the talent on the English squad, they made the finals almost in spite of the supremely conservative coaching. This is a golden generation of English talent and they may still make the World Cup semi or final-final, but I’m not sold on Southgate as any kind of managerial talent.
That said, Italy were better and deserved to win. Chiellini and Bonucci are the very definition of seasoned warriors that every team needs anchoring the back. Chiesa is phenomenal and Juventus must be thanking God they bought him when they did. I almost forgot how good Veratti was until this tournament.
Chiellini is a thug who should have seen a straight red for his foul on Saka. With regard to football I find nothing admirable in the supposed talent of being a hard bastard. Agree with ‘most everything else though.
It’s a superb squad. But I wish we’d retire the term “golden generation.” Who is the generational talent in that bunch, i.e. on par with the Shearers, Scholes and Gascoignes of this world? Harry Kane has a good case… who else does? Mount? Trippier? Rashford? Saka? Rice? Phillips? Stones? Maguire? Pickford? Very good players, but golden? Sterling showed his value, theyre very rich in attacking areas, and I rate Foden very highly.
But yes, I co-sign everything you say on Italy, Jack. Aouar? We should plunk nine figures on Veratti or Insigne. One can dream. Their technical level is insane.
I get what you’re saying about Verratti and Insigne but specifically neither player is remotely achievable for a club like Arsenal. I think we should go after guys who are technically gifted but a bit younger and just coming into their prime.
Southgate was at fault for mismanaging the talent in his squad and playing passive football. He wasted England’s opportunity.
As a die-hard fan of Paulo Maldini, watching Italy defend throughout the tournament was an absolute treat (Chiellini’s takedown of Saka aside).
Injecting some of that rawer, younger (read: affordable) Series A defensive talent would add potential for Arsenal.
Bring back those 1-nil, boring, boring Arsenal days!
Tim you owe us nothing, relax buddy
England losing is karma for a league that celebrates kicking technical players.
Amen, brother.
By all accounts Rashford and Sancho are experienced penalty takers, with a very good record of successful penalties.
However, I suspect that taking a penalty in normal play and doing so in a final after extra time may very well need extra special mental strength that a normally proficient penalty taker may have difficulty with.
With all the talk about taking penalties in training, I wonder whether that is enough.
If the more experienced players chickened out, it seems that Saka was the sacrificial lamb as Southgate would have known, maybe from the start, that he did not have enough players with the bottle and skill to do the job.
Do not managers not usually leave their better penalty takers to further along, rather than use them straight away?
Maybe he realised that he was on hiding to nothing and decided on a powerful start in the hope that the ones to follow would take on the baton.
He was wrong and Saka will bear the scars that Southgate, no doubt, still carried.
I do not see our squad as containing too many outstanding players, but rather a squad of players who play well together.
If outstanding players was the issue then Grealish would have been more than a regular late substitute and Kane would have been dropped after his perfomances in the first couple of games.
It is a case of the whole being better than the sum of the parts.
I also agree that Chiellini’s tackle, or whatever you might call it, I think it was more of an assault, on Saka was potentially dangerous and could have caused him irreparable harm had he landed differently. IT was very close to a sending off offence, but as he was smiling when he did it, he must have known that he would get nothing more than a yellow.
As a side comment, I am surprised that the club though the pre-season game against Hibs would have been worth paying for to watch. I certainly was not interested.
However, the result of Arteta’s awful stewardship of the team means that I could not care two hoots that we lost, especially as it did not surprise me.
I fear there will plenty more of those in the next few months.
Finally, ESR is a good prospect, but he is no Fabrecas or Brady and under Arteta we are not likely to see much improvement.