Saka was brought on as a substitute in the second-half
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka was given a standing ovation from Brentford supporters on Friday night – weeks after receiving racist abuse after his penalty miss in the final of Euro 2020.
Saka was one of three England players to miss in the penalty shootout against Italy along with Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. All three were targets for abuse in the days that followed.
Having been given a similar reception from Tottenham supporters in a pre-season friendly last week, Brentford fans stood and applauded Saka as he entered the pitch as a second half substitute in the Premier League opener.
This was superb from the Brentford fans as Bukayo Saka came on pic.twitter.com/M8jD5vYxtK
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 13, 2021
Brentford’s supporters enjoyed a historic night at the Brentford Community Stadium, seeing their side claim a 2-0 victory over Mikel Arteta’s men in their first ever Premier League game.
Related links
- Brentford’s five-year journey from academy closure heartbreak to the Premier League
- Vast majority of racist Euro final tweets came from UK, report says
- Bukayo Saka received huge support from Tottenham fans in pre-season friendly
Arsenal were deprived of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who missed the game through illness, and struggled to create meaningful chances throughout the game.
The home side took the lead through Sergi Canos with little over 20 minutes played. Inside the final quarter of an hour they doubled their lead when Arsenal struggled to deal with a long throw into their penalty area, allowing Christian Norgaard to nod home the final goal of the game.
The result puts Brentford top of the table – if only for a matter of hours – and instantly heaps the pressure on an Arsenal side that finished last season in eighth.
