Bukayo Saka gets new two-word nickname from Alan Shearer that says it all about him

Alan Shearer has brandished a "mentality monster" following dominant quarter-final win over Real Madrid in the Champions League. The right winger scored in the second leg of the knockout tie, putting the Gunners 4-0 ahead on aggregate and all but sealing their place in the semi-finals.

Vinicius Jr levelled on the night shortly after, but would put the cherry on the cake for the north London outfit, finding the net in the 93rd minute to 2-1 and extend the lead to 5-1 on aggregate. However, before put one past Thibaut Courtois in the second half, he had the opportunity to extend the overall lead when were awarded a penalty early on.

Saka stepped up and, despite a good record from the spot with with 12 scored and three missed, he made a mess of the strike and Courtois made a comfortable save down to his right. While this miss could have derailed the 23-year-old's thought process during the game, it looked to have the opposite effect - as he scored in the 65th minute and helped .

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

During an episode of podcast, Shearer, and Micah Richards discussed the mentality of Saka and how strong his mind must be to remain focused despite the miss from 12 yards.

Shearer began the discussion with a strong statement: "What about Saka, man? He's like a mentality monster." Lineker, with tongue in cheeky referencing his 1992 miss against Brazil, replied: "He misses the penalty, and I mean, who tries a little dinky penalty like that?

"I mean, who would do that? I think it's a really good penalty to hit occasionally because it will make the keepers think, but and it might even be worth with missing one when you actually go on to win for for the future because goalkeepers now will think, oh, he's got that little dinky one in his locker."

The former and striker admitted it can "look embarrassing" when the panenka doesn't work out. Shearer added: "It's not a good look when you miss, not at all.

"But for him to even think, 'Actually, I'm in the quarter finals of the , I'm at the Bernabeu playing ', and you've got the nuts to say, 'I'm just going to dink this'. It's like really? Come on."

Richards agreed with his fellow podcast hosts, admitting some concern for Saka's state of mind minutes after the missed strike. He said: "Did you see that after he missed the penalty, he went back and he was defending and he got the ball and just shanked it out of play with his right foot, or just shanked it up field with his right foot.

"I'm thinking to myself 'Oh, his head's gone'. He needs to recover, he needs to recover ASAP. And then of course, mentality monster Saka steps up again."

Saka was a big miss for Arsenal as he battled a hamstring injury sustained late on in 2024. After hobbling off during the Gunners' win over on December 21, the winger faced three months on the sidelines.

His return has been gratefully received by fans and team-mates alike, as hailed Saka's performance in the Champions League - but joked he wanted to "slap" the star for the missed penalty.

Post-match, Arteta said: "I didn't want to die but maybe I wanted to slap him. He made that decision, he was bold enough to do it and he missed. I was more concerned about the emotional part. What it could do for us."

He added: "The personality he showed at his age, in the first time he played in this stadium, incredible."

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