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Arsenal’s first black player Brendon Batson has spoken about his admiration for current Gunners forward Bukayo Saka’s “mental resilience” following his standout displays for England at Euro 2024.

Saka, 22, was the target of racist abuse on social media as one of three black players – alongside Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho – to miss a penalty for England in the shootout defeat to Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley in 2021.

Yet he stepped up to become a regular penalty taker for his club after that, and, after scoring the equaliser for England against Switzerland in the quarter-final at Euro 2024, was one of five scorers from the spot in their penalty shootout victory over the Swiss.

“I’ve got the greatest admiration for Saka because he’s shown a lot of mental
resilience, but also I think people around him have been very supportive – not
just Arsenal supporters and Arsenal Football Club, but across the country,” said Batson, who made his first-team debut for the Gunners in 1972.

“The thing is, there is much more good in this world than bad, and I think
football kind of reflects that, because you get extremes. He’s come through it
fantastically well and I couldn’t be more proud of all those lads.

“There is a lot of pride, particularly from the diverse community, to see
somebody who’s had to go through a lot of abuse come through it almost
immediately after by playing so well for his club and carrying on playing well
for England.”