Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley today and the Clarets’ goal came from a gift by Granit Xhaka and Bernd Leno.
The error-prone Swiss midfielder miss-hit his pass towards David Luiz and it went straight to the body of Chris Woods and into the Arsenal net.
It was yet another error leading to a goal by the former Arsenal captain, but some fans blamed Bernd Leno for passing the ball to the midfielder in the first place.
The goalie was under pressure and needed an outlet to get the ball away from him.
Arsenal always prioritises playing out from the back and when Xhaka made himself available, Leno inevitably passed him the ball instead of kicking it up the field.
Some Arsenal fans insist that he made the wrong choice and he shouldn’t have passed the ball to Xhaka, but others were not surprised that the midfielder made the error leading to the goal.
The Gunners posted the news of the equalizer on their Twitter page, here are some reactions:
People will blame Xhaka but Leno should’ve cleared it and not pass to Xhaka ffs
— 🔴⚪️ (@TylerAFC_) March 6, 2021
I want granit xhaka arrested at half time
— Identity Fraud🌍💳💰 (@jackdisappeared) March 6, 2021
Get rid of xhaka
— OrganisedMessFC (@BrutallyGooner) March 6, 2021
Of course Xhaka will get the blame there as usual, but wtf was Leno thinking passing to him in that position? Xhaka was in his own box being pressed by 2 players and had to take it on his weak foot.
That's on Leno, he's sold Xhaka out big time there.
— Taylorrrr (@TaylorH_31) March 6, 2021
It is not Xhaka. It is 100% Leno’s fault. That is where Martinez is far ahead of Leno – ball distribution.
— Rebo Ehwan (@rebousman) March 6, 2021
Leno should get perhaps 15% of the blame. This is the way the players have been instructed to play and even if it was a risky ball, there are 100 things Xhaka could’ve done better than smash it into their forward. In other words, if Xhaka had booted it out for a corner, Leno would’ve carried more of the blame.
Ironically I made almost the exact same mistake today in my 5-aside game. Like Granit, I’m dreading the replay.
Bench for you next game, Sean 🤣
If I’m lucky!
Xhaka called for it, and expected the pass….he should’ve done better.
If he didn’t want it why call? Why didn’t he clear it then if he was under too much pressure?
Im not a Xhaka fan but this was a genuine accident, shouldn’t have happened but it’s part of the game and can happen to any player. It’s his general slow play, lack of athleticism and poor tackling that I have an issue with.
Completely agree with all of this
Xhaka is in the wrong league, he is such a poor footballer, he is a mistake waiting to happen because of his ability or lack of it. You cant blame Leno for the Donkey pass Xhaka did, he is so negative, he always get caught out every single game. Dont blame Leno for xhakas failings, he doesnt pick the team, the player or tactics.
Spot on Reggie…the only thing you can blame Leno for is not spending a considerable amount of his own time trying to correct his woeful displays when it comes to passing the ball up the pitch…his passing accuracy, with and without pace, is amateurish, no wonder they don’t want him launching the ball up the pitch too often…usually one expects a 50/50 proposition under those circumstances, or slightly less, but with Leno I would say it’s more of a 20/80, at best, as he oftentimes launches it out of bounds or puts such little pace on the ball that our player is required to take hard contact simply so possession isn’t easily conceded
So after 97 minutes and a combined 790 touches 28 multi millionaires have managed to score just two horrible goals. Aubameyangs weak shot muffed by the Burnley keeper and Arsenal’s defence gifts a free goal.
These mega rich super stars serving up 2 hours of sludge every four days is unbelievable. Why do millions of fans not demand better? Why are there not 50 shots per game and at least ten goals per game? Debating the offside law or the hand ball law is pure distraction. The game needs a major overhaul. 9 a side and rolling subs would be a good start.
I wish Arteta learns from this , we have players that significantly error prone, Xhaka, Louiz , Chambers, and Leno. these players will rotate the errors . I can now predict who will commit the next error .
Chambers is error prone? He has hardly kicked a ball this season.In my opinion both Xhaka and Leno were culpable, and it does not matter a dam who tipped the scales.We keep shooting ourselves in the foot at one end, and need to get more clinical at the other.These are the classic symptoms of mid table mediocrity which unfortunately will take time to put right.
Definitely cannot be judging Chambers, i actually thought he did fairly well considering how he must be lacking match fitness.
We seem to be incapable of keeping focus for a full game.
Its amazing to see people out in droves to support xhaka.
He gets picked every week regardless of how terrible he plays and regardless of how he disrespected the fans.
He’s had about 10 good games on the trot and yes made a mistake but Leon’s mistake was greater.
This tactical error goes all the way up to the top. Allowing a player like Xhaka, with limited technical skills and agility, to receive the ball on the edge of the box was tantamount to suicide. It’s the same old mistakes over and over again. Arteta should be held responsible. Period.
Leno was to blame for this, should have cleared it.
Arteta is to be blamed for this because he is supposed to insrturct them that when there on pressure there should clear the ball
MA already mentioned before. Ideal team is very far from he had in mind.
There’s what he had to be forced to have right now n keep playing these few players till the transfer period or next season where hopefully more funds available for more new players.