Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Paul Merson thinks one Arsenal player was ‘petrified’ in midweek, Mikel Arteta’s to blame
Arsenal legend Paul Merson has hit out at Gunners boss Mikel Arteta for picking Alex Runarsson to play in goal in their League Cup quarter-final defeat.
The 25-year-old, who arrived at the Emirates Stadium as a replacement for Emiliano Martinez, was given the nod ahead of Bernd Leno against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Sadly, Runarsson struggled from the off, being beaten to the punch by Gabriel Jesus’ header in the third minute, which pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening.
The Iceland international didn’t cover himself in glory for any of Man City’s goals, with the second a particularly bad moment for him and his team.
Runarsson allowed Riyad Mahrez’s tame free-kick to slip through his grasp and into the net, putting City 2-1 ahead after Alexandre Lacazette had equalised for Arsenal.
Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte rounded off the scoring for a 4-1 victory as Arsenal’s elimination from the competition added to their Premier League woes.
Merson thinks Arteta’s decision to select Runarsson instead of Leno was a “shocker”, given the summer signing’s lack of experience in big games.
This resulted in a player who was probably “petrified” and who’s now likely to have been dealt a big blow to his confidence.
“I always say managers make strange decisions when they’re under pressure,” Merson wrote in the . “But what was Arteta doing against Manchester City?
Why would you play a kid in goal against a team who will have double figure shots against you?
Okay, Alex Runarsson is 25 but how many big games has he played? Why play him? Especially when Bernd Leno started in the competition when they beat Liverpool!
“It makes no sense. Please don’t tell me your goalie needs a rest. Why? He’s standing around in the six yard box!
“There are people out there working eight-hour shifts, and you’re telling us a goalkeeper is tired. Come on.
“I feel for Runarsson. He was probably petrified. He made a mistake and it’s set him back. But it’s a shocker from Arteta.”
TBR View:
Merson has a point – although Runarsson can’t really be considered a “kid” at 25 and with a fair bit of experience behind him, throwing him in at the deep end against Man City wasn’t a good call in hindsight.
Goalkeepers don’t exert themselves as much as outfielders do, so Leno could’ve easily played, and he’d have been a much better shout against a team which, as Merson said, was always going to get plenty of shots in.
Arsenal will hopefully make amends on Boxing Day with a Premier League home meeting against Chelsea but you can’t help but feel that things may be getting worse before they get better.