Arsenal star Saka hails Vinícius Jr. ahead of Real Madrid showdown | OneFootball

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has this week moved to reveal his appreciation for Real Madrid counterpart Vinícius Jr.

This of course comes ahead of the upcoming meeting between the two players, and their respective clubs.

Arsenal will act as hosts on Tuesday evening, for the first leg of a highly-anticipated Champions League quarter-final tie with reigning holders Real Madrid.

The matchup will see some of the game’s standout attacking talent lock horns, from Vinícius Jr. and Kylian Mbappé at Real Madrid, to the aforementioned Bukayo Saka at Arsenal.

And as alluded to above, in the buildup to the fixture, the latter of these players made clear his appreciation for Vinícius.

Speaking to the media with a view to tomorrow’s action, wide-man Saka was drawn on the difficulties which Real Madrid’s attacking talisman has faced when it comes to racist abuse.

And the England international made use of the opportunity to hail Vinícius for his resilience, explaining:

“Racist insults directed at Vinícius ? I know him as a player and I know his path. He’s had difficult moments, but he’s shown he’s bigger than that.”

Conor Laird – GSFN