Martin Keown blasts Arsenal star for ‘killing everybody’ with his indecision and says team-mates should ‘take him out’
MARTIN KEOWN has slammed Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner after his mistake led to a goal against Sporting Lisbon.
The keeper has only played two games since the turn of the year and his rustiness showed for Sporting's equaliser.
A corner was played into the six-yard box by former Tottenham player Marcus Edwards and Turner should have collected the ball.
He even started to come out before quickly backpeddling, allowing Goncalo Inacio to head in unchallenged.
Keown questioned the American on BT Sport, saying his actions also made it more difficult for one of his team-mates to clear the ball.
He said: "Really he's killed everyone, because he's started to come and then doesn't. But [Jakub] Kiwior, too, he's got to do a little bit more than that.
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"What I'll be saying though if I'm playing regularly with this keeper is I'm going to have to go and head things. I can't really trust him. There he has come and win it and be dominant and he didn't do it.
"He had a first scary moments in the first half. He’s got to come and be dominant and win the ball from the corner, but he didn’t do it.
"If you look, the goalkeeper comes and then he backs off. He kills the central defenders.
"I tell you what I'd do when I'm playing for the next one, I'm coming, I'm heading that. I'll take my own goalkeeper out because I can't rely on him."
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Mikel Arteta also criticised his side's defending in the 2-2 draw, warning his players they need to be more alert on set-pieces.
The Gunners have only conceded five goals from set-pieces in the Premier League, one more than Manchester City, but it is an area Arteta is aiming to improve after Bournemouth also profited from a corner last weekend.
After the game Arteta said: “Sometimes the opponents and really good at what they do.
“When they get the delivery right, in the right space, it’s just half a centimetre sometimes whether you get that header out of the box or if it goes in.
“It’s true that it’s something that we must improve dramatically in the next few games if you want to keep winning games.”