Bukayo Saka has been praised for doing his talking on the pitch against Tottenham after being abused by the home supporters. Saka was one of Arsenal’s star players in their crucial 3-2 win in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon. He assisted Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s own goal with a whipped corner before making it 2-0 with a calm finish on the counter-attack. Kai Havertz headed in Declan Rice’s corner to make it 3-0 before half-time, and although Spurs fought back through Cristian Romero’s goal from David Raya’s mistake and Son Heung-min’s penalty after Rice’s foul on Ben Davies, they couldn’t find an equaliser. Victory ensured Arsenal remain in the Premier League title race with Manchester City and have the bragging rights over Spurs. Having come through the Arsenal academy, Saka understands the importance of the derby more than most. And the 22-year-old also knows how to channel his emotions, as evidenced by his behaviour for the first goal. DON’T SCRAP REPLAYS! Join our petition to keep the magic of the FA Cup alive! As he went over to take the corner in the opposite corner to the Arsenal away fans, Saka was bombarded with abuse. In a video posted on social media, a minority of Tottenham supporters could be heard chanting “you let your country down”, in reference to Saka’s missed penalty for England in the final of Euro 2020. Saka whipped in the corner to the near post and, under pressure from Takehiro Tomiyasu, Hojbjerg accidentally headed it past Guglielmo Vicario to put Arsenal 1-0 up. As his team-mates ran over to celebrate with him, Saka could be seen cupping his ear to the now-quiet Spurs fans by the corner flag. HAVE YOUR SAY! What did you make of Bukayo Saka’s performance and goal celebrations? Comment below. His response earned him lots of praise on social media. “The best form of revenge is success,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “That’s the best way to respond,” one fan added, with another concluding: “That’s karma.” Saka’s response went down well on Reddit too. “You really can’t beat the cupped ear, top-tier stuff,” one Arsenal fan wrote. “The irony is that they’ve let themselves down,” another wrote. “Man they sure did go quiet quickly,” another joked. Saka had another reason to celebrate 12 minutes later when he latched onto Havertz’s pass, turned inside Davies and found the bottom corner with his left foot. This time he cupped both of his ears as he sprinted away to celebrate in front of the stunned home supporters. Arsenal scored all three of their goals in the first half at the opposite end to their supporters, but having held out during the nervy final moments, they got to celebrate with them at the full-time whistle. “Very nice moment,” Saka told Sky Sports. “We know what it means for the fans and for us. We’re delighted. It means everything. We know this is a massive win for us, we’ve got three to go and we’re gonna give it everything and see where it leaves us.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
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