Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has stood by Bukayo Saka after the winger missed a crucial penalty in the dramatic and potentially costly 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday. The youngster stepped up to give his side a two-goal lead but missed the target and had to watch as Jarrod Bowen equalised for the home side moments later.
It comes just one week after Mo Salah's own missed penalty against Mikel Arteta's men as Arsenal let a 2-0 buffer slip away from home for the second time in a row. It now means that what was once an eight-point gap to Manchester City can now be cut down to just the one ahead of the crunch match later this month.
After the game Arteta reiterated his stance that Saka, despite Gabriel Jesus being on the pitch, was the right man to take the kick, saying: "If you are prepared to take responsibility of penalties, you have to be prepared that in that package the possibility to miss is 100%.
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"At some point you’re going to miss. That’s it. 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."
Arsenal had surged into a commanding position earlier in the game thanks to a blistering start with goals from Jesus and Odegaard inside ten minutes. Said Benrahma's own penalty halved the defecit before half-time as the game followed an eerily similar path to that of Anfield the week before.
Saka's missed spot-kick put the wind in the West Ham sails though as David Moyes' men hung on for a vital point in their fight to avoid relegation. The Englishman fronted up after the game too, writing on Instagram: "Regardless of the outcome, I’ll always accept my responsibility. Apologies Gunners, I’ll do everything I can to make it right."
His skipper was amongst those to send a message of defiance in the replies. "All together bro always, we keep going [red heart emoji]," he wrote. Former Arsenal player Gilberto Silva also wrote: "Stay strong."
Arsenal face Southampton next week before the trip to Manchester City follows.
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