Arsenal legend Ian Wright jumped to the defence of Bukayo Saka after his image was used to illustrate England's dismal defeat to Iceland.

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• Saka came on as substitute during Iceland loss
• Picture plastered over newspaper back pages
• Wright calls out treatment of Gunners star

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  England lost to Iceland in dismal circumstances, going down 1-0 in their final warm-up friendly for Euro 2024. Saka was introduced as a second-half substitute, and only played 25 minutes, but has since been placed on the back page of many newspapers, to the chagrin of the ex-Arsenal legend.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wright believes that Saka is being set up to be blamed for England's potential failure at Euro 2024, in similar circumstances to Euro 2020, when Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho were at the centre of sickening racist abuse after missing their penalties against Italy in the final.

• WHAT WRIGHT SAID

  Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: "Now more than ever let's get behind & support these young people. We can all see what's happening & who's being set up to be the face of defeat. We are going to be gas lit with explanations & justifications, but those deciding who goes on the back pages know what they’re doing. Let's keep our energy focused on giving these players pure love & support throughout the tournament."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  England head into Euro 2024 on the back of their Iceland defeat and will kick off their tournament against Serbia on June 16. They will also play Denmark and Slovenia in the group stages.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News