Bernd Leno says he was unlucky with the way his attempted clearance of Sadio Mane’s cross led to James Milner breaking the deadlock for Liverpool in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
Mane appeared to be aiming for Mo Salah at the back post when he fired a waist height ball across the Gunners six-yard box on 61 minutes. Under no pressure, the German opted to push the ball away with two hands, only for Rob Holding to deflect it straight into the path of Milner who netted with a first time finish.
It’s been suggested that keeper, who in the first half missed a cross that Virgil van Dyck nearly converted, might have done better with the situation. After the game 26-year-old claimed he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“It’s a bit unfortunate,” he told ESPN FC. “You stay away, the guy at the back scores, maybe nobody will blame you.
“If you go into it and the one in the middle scores, all say parry in another way.
“It’s not that easy in this situation because I completely tried to get there.
“You can’t really say where it’ll go, and then the ball falls flat on Milner’s feet. And that’s the goal.”
As Liverpool celebrated their goal, a huge roar went up around the Emirates, urging the players to maintain the momentum they’d worked so hard to build. They claimed a share of the spoils with eight minutes remaining courtesy of Alex Lacazette’s clinical finish. The response on the terraces and the pitch bodes well, says Leno.
“It shows a bit the squad’s character right now, also of the fans,” he said. “I don’t know how things were in the past. But at the beginning of the season, you had the feeling the fans become very uneasy, but the fans immediately pushed us forward.
“Every player feels that, and there was this feeling after the 1-0 we could still win the match. We scored 10 minutes from time. Every player wanted to win it. It didn’t work, sadly. But the atmosphere and the character of the team right now is very good.”
Liking him as a keeper, looks like he will stay first choice over Cech.
Good attitude, competitive.
Needs to work on his decision making. Whilst I agree he was unlucky here, he was not unlucky when he flew out and was well short of the cross that Van Djik headed against the post.
No worse than Allison
Cheaper too
Hehe.
I am not going to slack him. I do believe he is a very decent player but he has got to own up to his mistakes. He made a couple of rookie mistakes and the one that went in was just Leno pushing the ball away and praying to the skies that it falls to own of the Arsenal player around him. Made a blunder of a save and then ended up making a rookie mistake. Typical of what I heard about Leno before he joined us. Please do prove me wrong mate. I would be so happy to be… Read more »
Blinder of a save*
Cannot cannot understand the criticism. That ball was headed straight to Salah for a tap in. Maybe it flashes past everyone. Holding was not getting there and that’s not a criticism of him. Is it that he punched rather than claimed?
Plus, his playing out from the back is genuinely top quality and so critical to cutting out a big part of our defensive nerves.
(1) I think Leno should be our first-choice keeper. (2) He made a big mistake on the goal. (What should he have done? Punch it much further and higher.) I can believe both those things at the same time. I can believe that Xhaka tripped Zaha at Palace for a deserved penalty–and that he made a brilliant recovery run and tackle on Salah against Liverpool.
What foolish criticism. EVERY clearance made by any keeper is a case of hoping that the ball falls to one of his own players. Are you able to dictate exactly where a travelling ball is going to land with pinpoint accuracy? Lets not make out like Leno threw the ball into his own net or that he missed the punch; his successful parry just unfortunately deflected off Holding (also not to blame) and it landed kindly at Milner’s feet. These things happen. How long have you been waiting to play the ‘Typical of what I heard about Leno before he… Read more »
Listen as I have stated my intention is not to slate Leno. Do really believe he is a very decent player. Remember Alisson making a similar clearance with Mkhi’s first touch just taking the ball away. The thing is I just thought maybe he could have made it a bit better. Moments of madness like rushing out of his line and mistiming a jump over VVD could certainly be avoided. A personal opinion. Nothing foolish to point out an honest opinion. He is a good player who could be better. Hope Cech could influence and help him out a bit… Read more »
On what he did wrong with the save that lead to the goal was.. I thought he was out of position in the first place before he pushed the ball away. He did look a bit like he was in a hurry. Again my own opinion.
Foolish are those who sing rhymes when the team are on a roll and wise are those who are balanced both during the good and the bad times. I want my team player to do better when I do realise he is got the capacity to do so.
I was going to reply but then I read that you think Arsenal fans singing for the team are foolish.
Sums you up. Idiot.
I agree. Leno is a good keeper, but he can learn from Cech in regards to handling crosses and coming out from between the sticks and into the box to try and defend difficult balls. He was a bit rash in rushing out a few times, and really needs to reign in that type of behavior. I don’t really fault him for what happened with Milner, but I do fault him for rushing out and not getting a solid piece of the ball when Firmino and Mane attacked. We’re lucky the ref messed up the call. He did the same… Read more »
No, it is certainly not true that every clearance “is a case of hoping that the ball falls to one of his own players.” Some clearances are punched far enough out, or enough to the side, that they are actual “clearances” even if an opponent recovers them. Sometimes, it is impossible for the keeper to do this, because of the venom or placement of the cross or the congestion in front of him. But I think it was absolutely possible for Leno to have done much better on Liverpool’s goal. And I think he will do so next time.
I don’t think you can say that without being in his position. He made a spectacular dive just to get to that ball. Think how difficult it was the parry it away in a split second (wish he could have held onto it), while still traveling through the air. If he hadn’t of made that dive, Salah would have put that ball in the back of the net easily. If the ball he parred away hadn’t of deflected off Holding’s leg, chances are one of our players would have cleaned it up and regained possession. I think the more serious… Read more »
You’re wrong this, yellow ribbon. The only other choice he had was to catch the cross but he was r going to have control of the bell if he tried. His only other option was to push it out. If he let that ball go across him, it’s a tap in for Salah because Holden wasn’t getting there before Salah
He did what he could. He had to contest that cross, but it required him at full extension to deflect it away, so no way he catches it, and I doubt he could have effectively even punched it. Had Holding not touched it, it bounds harmlessly out past the corner of the 18-yard box and few even remember that moment.
It was bad luck. It happens. Not every goal is because of a villain.
Also if it takes a slightly different deflection from holding it goes into a more congested area giving Leno more time and other players to react.
Welldone Leno, you made a good parry only unfortunate it hits Holding otherwise no harm would have come. Keep the good work cos the number 1 position is fully in your grasp.
My thoughts exactly. It’s a game of small margins as he explained in his interviews. Frankly am happy he’s brave enough to go for it rather than the safe option of staying on his line where he won’t be blamed if Salah scores at the back post. On another day, Holding doesn’t flick it on and Kolasinac clears it easily. But then again, margins. Perhaps the other question we should be asking is how Milner was allowed so much time to smash the ball in? But that would seemingly taint an otherwise excellent performance from our midfield.
I’ve been really impressed with him but can totally understand now those warning flags (like lacks of concentration) from the reports from before the start of the season. There’s a really good goalkeeper in there, he just needs to keep going and learning. He’s still getting to know the defenders infront of him so I will judge him at the end of the season. But so far so good.
Sure, he can improve and learn from these mistakes but with the ball at his feet he’s brilliant and totally suits the way we play.
Thought he played well.
I think the occasion in the first half where he’s out like a flying starfish is worse than his effort on the goal. He tries to get the ball, gets a touch and on 9/10 it won’t result in a goal.
Plus for the starfish move is flattening Van Dijk, though.
Cech might still be a better shot stopper, but i can’t see him going to back to the starting 11 unless an injury or a serious performance drop happens. We were so much comfortable with the whole playing from the back thing, even against high pressing team like liverpool.
I would suggest “especially” rather than “even” in your last sentence ach. He looks comfortable playing out from the back, and that confidence is having an effect on the defence as a whole.
Leno is the future. Unless he makes persistent mistakes, we need to persist with him.
If this is what people have to criticise, then we’re not doing too bad at the moment. Like the rest of the team he’s still finding his feet & I think will improve.
This lad is 26 years old, how many errors has Cech made since he joined Arsenal? I don’t even think it was an error. Had the ball not clipped Holding’s heel, Milner would have had to take at least one touch to set himself up for a shot. This would have allowed the defense and Leno to reset and possibly close him down or save the shot. It was a bit of luck that you could say they were owed after having a goal disallowed unfairly. Leno did all he could do, if he’d had left it they would have… Read more »
The Milner goal we can probably chalk up to a random play that just turned out to be a lucky fall to the feet of our opponent. Could we have had more pressure on the original pass to Mane? Yes. Could we have tracked Milner back with more vigor? Probably. The only criticism to take away from this game is that Leno, again, went for a set play cross and did not get there in time. Believe we want him to take some risks and protect the box, but the obvious factor is if he is going to go he… Read more »
Maybe could have done better but in truth that goal in part came from a turnover which happened very quickly. Bellerin was caught high leaving Mustafi to cover too much ground. The ball coming in maybe could have been dealt with slightly better by Leno but when it was pushed out, we were not diligent enough to pick out the player with the least amount of ‘threat’ on the pitch…which is the one that often scores in these type of games. Alas. Leno made good saves against VanDyke point blank and Firmino (gathering ball at feet) plus the header (again… Read more »
the FANS, a new x-Factor
Leno is a massive goalkeeper for us.
The atmosphere has changed since Emery has taken charge,players are chasing every ball and making things happen that last few years never really cared,but the response from the fans as we went 1-0 down was brilliant