Bukayo Saka Has Reveals Thierry Henry Mentoring At Arsenal In Wake Of Euro 2020 Penalty Miss

Bukayo Saka has revealed his gratitude to Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who reached out to him after his Euro 2020 penalty miss and has taken on a mentoring role with the England international ever since.

Saka was racially abused after he missed the crucial spotkick against Italy, prompting Henry to take the young forward under his wing.

“Thierry was in touch,” Saka told The Telegraph. “It meant everything. He’s shown a lot of his character to get my number and to reach out to me.

“It’s not just from that moment. After most Arsenal games, he reaches out to me and he’s still so passionate about the club and he’s an amazing person.

“Thierry and Robert Pires have been around the club and spoken to me and helped me and they have supported me to this day, so I’m grateful to them. Of course, on the pitch, they delivered and they were magnificent and they delivered silverware for Arsenal, so they will be legends, always.”

Saka will come up against Kylian Mbappe as England take on France in the quarter-finals, but laughed off comparisons with the Paris Saint-Germain star.

Asked whether he would be the next Mbappe, Saka said: “First of all, thank you for the compliment … but no. There is only one Kylian Mbappe – and at the same time, there is only one me.