Paul Merson has criticised Arsenal’s keeper Aaron Ramsdale for failing to prevent one of Chelsea’s goals in the Gunners’ 4-2 win on Wednesday.
Arsenal took the lead twice in the first-half but were pegged back by Chelsea each time, before a second-half goal from Eddie Nketiah restored their advantage, with Bukayo Saka’s late penalty securing the win.
Chelsea’s first equaliser was scored by Timo Werner, whose strike from outside the box was deflected off Granit Xhaka and bounced beyond Ramsdale’s reach.
Ramsdale has been excellent since moving to the Emirates from Sheffield United, with 12 clean sheets in the Premier League so far this season, but many felt that he should have done better in this particular moment.
‘I’m not a goalie but for me the keeper has to save that. He’s flat footed and he dives very, very late,’ Merson told Sky Sports.
‘Look at the three players who were in front of the ball when the shot goes in [Xhaka, Ben White, Rob Holding].
‘They all turn around to look at the goalie and they are not happy. They cannot believe he hasn’t saved it and for me that tells you everything.
‘It’s still come a long way and it’s not come at pace, he’s [Xhaka] taken the power out of it, and you can see how they weren’t happy with him letting that goal in.’
It didn’t affect the result and Arsenal will cherish those three points as they aim to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2016.
The Gunners are currently fifth in the table, level on points with fourth placed Tottenham with just six matches to go.
But Mikel Arteta’s side face another big test on Saturday, when they host Manchester United who are also aiming to finish in the league top four.
