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Eberechi Eze has fielded messages of support from other professionals to have squandered high-pressure penalties after his Champions League final miss – and will have no problem taking one this summer.
The Arsenal midfielder insisted that he will be ready to step up for England in a World Cup knockout shootout if called upon and believes the pain of Budapest will improve him as a player.
Both Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford have discussed their European Championship final misses with the 27-year-old, who revealed others have reached out in the immediate aftermath of the defeat by Paris Saint-Germain.
‘All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these types of moments,’ Eze said.
‘I’ve had messages from everyone to speak on those moments. For me it’s not something I wish never happened. I’m grateful it happened. I’m going to grow from it, learn from it and move forward.
‘Honestly before even speaking to them [Saka and Rashford], you can see the way big players carry themselves. You step up, you do what you need to do. If you miss, you miss. If you score, you score. It’s having the mentality to keep going.’
Eze dragged his penalty wide in the Champions League final as Arsenal lost to PSG in the shootout
Penalty misses in the Community Shield and Champions League final won’t put Eze off from taking one for England at the World Cup if necessary
Eze has leant on Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, who both missed penalties for England in the shootout defeat against Italy in the final of Euro 2020
Asked if he will step up for England in North America this summer, Eze replied: ‘If called upon, for sure. Why wouldn’t I take it?’
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was among those to criticise Eze’s penalty technique, dragging a shot wide after the stuttering run up had sat goalkeeper Matvey Safonov down.
Gerrard had claimed the decision to persist with the slow run was ‘nonsense’. Eze had also seen a spot kick saved while at Crystal Palace in last year’s Community Shield final, smartly thwarted by Liverpool’s Alisson.
Eze insisted there are no plans to change. ‘I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,’ he added. ‘You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I’m not going to stress too much about it because I know I’m in this position for a reason and all the training behind it.’
The boyhood Arsenal supporter became an integral part of their first Premier League title since 2004 in the second half of his debut season and believes the winning feeling tasted by a number of the squad from different clubs can create momentum ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup opener with Croatia.
‘It’s important for a player’s confidence to have that under your belt, to experience winning, achieving what you set out to achieve, he said. ‘It gives you a different level of confidence and a lot of players experiencing that is only going to help us here.
‘Winning gives you belief, a trust in yourself that you can go all the way. We’ll all be using that for sure. The title race was madness. Experiencing them is only going to turn you into a bigger player and you can always fall back on it.
‘It’s been a season of ups and downs, so many different things I’ve had to overcome but an enjoyable one and something I want to experience every single year.’
Which England star has 7 GCSEs? Who has lost half of his finger? Test your knowledge of Thomas Tuchel’s squad with our exclusive quiz HERE.
