Mikel Arteta says Arsenal have to lift Bernd Leno’s spirits after the goalkeeper’s mistake cost the Gunners dearly in their 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Arsenal were leading through Aubameyang’s first-half header with seven minutes to play when Leno rushed out to claim Mount’s free kick, missed, and left Jorginho with a simple finish.
Minutes later, Tammy Abraham turned smartly and finished through his legs to turn the game around and leave the gunners on a terrible run of record-breaking proportions.
“He will be down,” Arteta said of Leno. “When an error costs the team points, it’s harder. We have to lift him.
“He’s done a really good job since he joined this football club and we have to respect that. We just need to bring the confidence back in and that’s it.”
There was refereeing controversy at the Emirates, with key substitute Jorginho perhaps lucky to escape a second yellow which would have led to a red card.
Arteta refused to blame referee Craig Pawson, saying his players had to take full responsibility for their mistakes.
“I blame my team,” he said. “We are responsible for everything we did wrong on that football pitch.
“The decisions we didn’t get right, obviously. The other things we cannot control or change them now.”
Despite their late capitulation, Arsenal had delivered one of their best performances of the campaign in the opening stages of the game.
Fans would have been happy with the immediate impact apparently made by Mikel Arteta, though the themes of individual errors and dropped points were familiar.
