Saka, Kane, Terry - London is the home of penalty bottlers

Ronan Murphy

• 16 Apr 2023 16:20 BST
• 3 min read

London is the home of bottle jobs - and the latest clash at the London Stadium just proved that. Bukayo Saka had the chance to secure three points against West Ham.

At 2-1 up, the England international had the opportunity to seal it - but his effort didn’t even hit the target. Everything seemed set for the youngster to clinch the victory, but he did not even hit the target.

To make matters worse, moments later Jarrod Bowen volleyed home the equaliser for West Ham, to make it 2-2.

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It might lead to Arsenal missing out on the Premier League title. They have not won it since 2004 and, despite being top of the table for the majority of the season, it looks like they could well miss out. A draw against Liverpool is one thing - everyone knows what the Reds are capable of on their day, even if they are in bad form - but do it against the relegation candidates is inexcusable. Saka is not the only Londoner to bottle it.

England misses

How can we forget Harry Kane’s miss against France in the World Cup? The Three Lions suffered a near miss in Euro 2020, narrowly losing to Italy after a penalty shootout. Everything was set for the Three Lions, with their squad that had come of age, to come back into the fold and win the competition.

Van Der Sar walks past a distraught John Terry after his Champions League Final penalty slip (2008) #MUFC pic.twitter.com/0sOJNnMclz

— 🇾🇪 (@ManUtdHeritage) March 30, 2022

We can go back even further, to 2008 in fact. John Terry, facing off against Manchester United in the Champions League final, famously slipped and scuffed his chance to win his club the trophy. It’s a moment that would haunt the Blues forever.

Meanwhile, Inter Miami owner David Beckham missed England’s first kick vs. Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarterfinals. England lost the shootout 6-5 and were knocked out the competition.