Bukayo Saka: Arsenal Star Meets Little Boy Who Gifted Him Pocket Money After Euro 2020 Penalty Miss

Bukayo Saka: Arsenal Star Meets Little Boy Who Gifted Him Pocket Money After Euro 2020 Penalty Miss

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:27 PM
In this article:
Bukayo Saka logo
B.Saka
Arsenal logoFEngland logo
  • Bukayo Saka missed the decisive spot kick for England at the Euro 2020 final against Italy
  • He was subject of racist abuse with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho who also missed
  • A young Arsenal fan sent a letter to him and added his £5 pocket money to the parcel

Bukayo Saka is one of the best wingers in Europe and one of Mikel Arteta's young players making a push for Arsenal's first Premier League title since the 2004 Invincibles.

The English-born Saka, who is of Nigerian descent, had the lowest moment of his career in 2021 when he missed England's fifth penalty in the final of the delayed Euro 2020 to give Gli Azzurri the trophy.

He suffered racist abuses, as did the Manchester United duo of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho. Saka received consolation from an unlikely source, a young fan who wrote him a letter and added his pocket money.

Bukayo Saka, Arsenal, England, Euro 2020, Wembley Stadium.
Bukayo Saka meets a young fan who wrote him a letter and gave his pocket money after Euro 2020 penalty miss. Photos by Mike Egerton/Athletic UK.
Source: Getty Images

Saka meets young fan who gave him his pocket money

As revealed in an episode of Arsenal's All or Nothing documentary on Amazon Prime Sport, the 21-year-old met the boy named Teddy, who was invited to Emirates Stadium.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ click on "Recommended for you" and enjoy!

Saka showed up in the dressing room, where the boy was already dressed in an Arsenal kit and asked what flavour of ice cream he wanted in reference to his request in the letter, and he responded with strawberry flavour.

When asked why he wrote the letter, the kid responded heartwarmingly and correctly pronounced the name Saka like the Yoruba people of South Western Nigeria, where Saka's parents originated.

''Because people were being racist to Saka. Bullying him,'' he said.

Rafael Leao reacts to Saka's video

Arsenal target and AC Milan forward Rafael Leao has raised the excitement of the Gunners after he commented on Saka and Teddy's video on Twitter.

The 23-year-old Portuguese is on the radar of many Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, as reported by The Boot Room. Milan value him at €100m amid contract standstill.

Arsenal fans push Saka for Ballon d'Or

Sports Brief earlier reported that Arsenal fans are pushing Saka to win the Ballon d'Or after his sublime goal in the 4-0 demolition of relegation strugglers Everton.

The Hale End graduate has scored 10 league goals this season, one of the four players aged 21 or under to have achieved that feat, the other being teammates Gabriel Martinelli, Folarin Balogun (on loan at Reims) and Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala.

FIFA Best men's player of the year Lionel Messi and PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe remain favourites for the award later this year.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.