'Proud' Arsenal send message of support to Bukayo Saka after racist abuse

Arsenal have heaped praise on young winger Bukayo Saka for his performances with England at Euro 2020, supporting the teenager after he was targeted by racist abuse in the aftermath of the final.

Saka, alongside Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, were racially abused on social media after the trio missed penalties in Sunday's shootout, with the Arsenal starlet missing the decisive penalty to hand the trophy to Italy.

The racist abuse was an abhorrent end to what was an ugly day for English football, with fans trashing London and storming Wembley to watch the game without tickets. Unsurprisingly, Arsenal were not going to stand for it.

"Last night, we saw Bukayo Saka reach the Euro 2020 final at the age of 19 years old," they wrote on their official website. "Bukayo has been with us since he was seven and the whole club couldn’t have been prouder to see him represent England throughout the tournament. You could feel it right across the club.

"Last night we witnessed the leadership and character we’ve always known and loved in Bukayo. However, this feeling of pride quickly turned to sorrow at the racist comments our young player was subjected to on his social media platforms after the final whistle.

"Once again, we are sad to have to say we condemn the racism of a number of black players. This cannot continue and the social media platforms and authorities must act to ensure this disgusting abuse to which our players are subjected on a daily basis stops now.

"We have processes in place internally at Arsenal to ensure our players are supported both emotionally and practically on this issue but sadly there is only so much we can do.

"Our message to Bukayo is: hold your head high, we are so very proud of you and we cannot wait to welcome you back home to Arsenal soon."

Arsenal's north London rivals Tottenham also sent a message of support to the 19-year-old, tweeting: "We stand together. We are driven by inclusion and equality and nobody should have to endure the repulsive online abuse seen recently."

Saka was one of England's standout performers at Euro 2020. He made four appearances, including excellent showings against both the Czech Republic and Germany in two of the team's toughest fixtures.

It was Saka who offered up the assist for Simon Kjaer's own goal in the semi-final victory over Denmark, so it's safe to say that England might not have even made it to the final in the first place without the 19-year-old.