Photo by Michael Regan /.
Gary Neville has said on his self-titled podcast that Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno has received unfair criticism following his performance over the weekend.
Arsenal drew 1-1 with Burnley on Saturday, in a game in which they rather gave away a goal to the Clarets.
Granit Xhaka received most of the criticism for her mistake, as her cross pass hit Chris Wood and swerved past Leno.
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However, the £ 19 million German goalkeeper (BBC Sport) also received its fair share of criticism after the match.
Many observers suggested that the Arsenal stopper should never have played the pass to Xhaka as he was under too much pressure.
But Neville feels Leno would have been instructed by Mikel Arteta to pass that ball to the midfielder.
“I think that ultimately goalkeepers play better than some outfield players would have done 20 years ago,” he said.
Photo by David Price / Arsenal FC via.
“The game has changed and it should change. We must welcome these changes.
Gone are the days when I would sit on Monday Night Football and criticize Xhaka. I would criticize him for the execution, but not for the beginning.
“For me, what we are seeing is that this is normal, that the players are going to play from their own box, but the execution was incorrect.
“The idea that his goalkeeper gave him a bad pass, I don’t agree with that. That pass was expected to be given, they are trained to pass that pass there. Xhaka is simply wrong.
Arteta really spoke up in defense of his style after the game, which would suggest that Neville’s comments are spot on.
Arsenal are always backed to play from behind, and they have had both successes and failures this season.
Arteta has always talked about his long-term project at Arsenal, and it seems unthinkable that this latest mishap would deter him from his favorite style of play, so Leno will almost certainly continue to risk his distribution, even after Saturday’s disaster. . .
In other news, ‘Make sure Neil Lennon gets a copy’: some Rangers fans react to dressing room footage
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