Tottenham fans applauded Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka on his first return to action since missing the crucial penalty at the Euro 2020 final.
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In a goodwill gesture, Tottenham Hotspur fans applauded Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka as he returned to domestic football for the first time since Euro 2020. Saka had a tournament to remember in the summer as he quickly became an important part of England’s set-up. In the final against Italy, however, the 19-year-old winger missed a crucial penalty in the shootout at Wembley last month, thereby extending England’s wait for a major trophy. As a result, Saka was subjected to racist abuse on social media. In no time, the 19-year-old winger found massive support from his country and abroad.
On Sunday, Saka – unexpectedly – received support from fans of his club’s biggest rivals on his first assignment with Arsenal – a pre-season friendly at Tottenham – since the Euro 2020 final. A banner erected at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium read, “North London stands with Bukayo Saka and all players against racism and discrimination.”
Saka, who came as a substitute, replaced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 63rd-minute and received a heartfelt round of applause from the Spurs faithful. The 19-year-old English international, who returned from an extended break after Euro 2020, responded in kind to the Spurs fans by applauding them.
In terms of the pre-season match, it was a hard-fought battle. In the end, Spurs won the friendly 1-0 following a late goal by Heung-Min Son. The 19-year-old Saka did have a chance to snatch a draw five minutes from time but was denied by new Tottenham goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini.
Rivalries aside. What a moment this was this afternoon.
? @BukayoSaka87 pic.twitter.com/sfObRqyGP8
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 8, 2021
Spurs head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is hopeful that he might be able to conduct socially distanced talks with star striker Harry Kane on Monday. Kane is currently quarantining at Tottenham’s north London training complex having returned to the club for the first time on Saturday. Speaking after Spurs’ pre-season victory over Arsenal on Sunday, Nuno said, “Harry is with us. He has to quarantine; he is at Spurs Lodge. He’s training, he already had his first day with the sports scientists. He’s with us, it’s good.”
“We expect to integrate Harry when he follows all the protocols we have to apply. We have to be very strict with the process of quarantine and not take any chances because everyone has learned the pandemic is still there, so we have to be very careful.
“I will speak with Harry as soon as possible. He is already at Spurs Lodge, we have a training session tomorrow [on Monday], hopefully I can speak with Harry socially distanced.”
However, Nuno Espirito Santo refused to say anything about Tottenham Hotspur’s reported pursuit of Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez. The Argentina striker has impressively scored 17 goals in 38 league games last season to help Inter win the Serie A title. The 23-year-old forward has scored 37 goals in 100 league games since joining Inter from Racing Club in his homeland in 2018.
His recent impressive performances have reportedly caught the eye of few clubs in Europe. Spurs are said to be one of them. However, speaking after Sunday’s win, Nuno said, “I will not speak about any player, I will speak only about Spurs players, nothing else.”
