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Manchester United supporter Mark Goldbridge has received praise from Arsenal fans after expressing his admiration for Bukayo Saka.
Saka, 20, has been one of Arsenal’s stand-out players this season after scoring nine goals in 30 appearances in all competitions.
The youngster has gone from strength to strength under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, despite suffering the heartache of England’s Euro 2020 final loss to Italy in July.
Saka missed a penalty in shootout at Wembley and was subsequently subjected to abhorrent racist abuse on social media.
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But the young forward hasn’t allowed that experience to derail his promising career.
Famous Red Devils fan Goldbridge has praised Saka’s “elite mentality” since the final and has called on United's squad to show the same mental strength.
He said: “Saka’s had a fantastic season. Last summer, England were in a Euros final at Wembley and he missed a penalty.
“Now look, the abuse he got was disgusting and awful, but take it back to football. He’s 20 years of age, he misses a penalty in a massive final with the whole world watching, what does he do?
I think Mark Goldbridge is spot on in his opinions on Bukayo Saka. 👏🏿👏🏿 It’s a shame more opposition fans aren’t as honest with themselves.
“He goes and has his best ever season in an Arsenal shirt and takes a team that’s got no right to be in a race for top four, into a race for top four. Whatever he’s done, or whoever is around him, I can only applaud it. Whether that’s Arteta, his family, his friends, his agent, the club, himself.
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“To come from that adversity and do your job, that’s what United players should be doing. We don’t have enough players like that.
“It’s an Arsenal player, it’s not nice to say it, but his mentality this season – whatever happens with Arsenal – his mentality from then to now, is elite.
“And if he maintains that – and I hope he does – he’s going to be a fantastic player. Because there’s talent and then there’s mentality.
“We know of loads of players who’ve got the talent but don’t have the mentality. Unfortunately, if you dropped Saka into a Manchester United side he’d be our best player this season, because so many of our players have failed in that mentality area.”
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Arsenal fans on Twitter have praised Goldbridge for his non-partisan opinion of Saka.
“I think Mark Goldbridge is spot on in his opinions on Bukayo Saka. It’s a shame more opposition fans aren’t as honest with themselves," wrote one fan.
Another added: “Respect Goldbridge for this. Nice to know that some fans actually watch other games and can be unbiased even when it's a rival club in more ways than one.”
Topics: Bukayo Saka, Manchester United, Arsenal, Football, Premier League