Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang offered his support to Bukayo Saka after his Arsenal teammate’s penalty miss saw Italy crowned European champions at Wembley.
The 19-year-old enhanced his burgeoning reputation over the course of Euro 2020, becoming a household name following a series of sparkling displays.
Saka was introduced as a second half substitute during Sunday’s final at Wembley and was forced to take the decisive penalty afer Jordan Pickford’s save from Jorginho kept England alive.
Unfortunately for Saka, Gianluigi Donnarumma guessed correctly, dived to his left and parried the youngster’s effort to spark scenes of joy for Italy and utter devastation for England.
Aubameyang has played a key role in Saka’s development, even bestowing him with his Little Chili nickname, and immediately took to Instagram to offer his close friend some words of wisdom.
He wrote: ‘Proud of you my little bro. This will build your success, you will see.’
The official Arsenal Twitter account, meanwhile, added: ‘Football can be so cruel. But for your personality. For your character. For your bravery… We’ll always be proud of you.
‘And we can’t wait to have you back with us.’
England skipper Harry Kane was one of only two England players to convert in the shootout but he absolved his teammates of any blame in his post match interview.
‘You’ve got to hold your heads high,’ said Kane. ‘It’s been a fantastic tournament. Anyone can miss a penalty. We win together, we lose together.
‘We’ll learn and grow from it. Those boys will grow from it and it will give us more motivation for the world cup next year.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page
Follow Metro Sport across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
0 Commentaires