Jamie Carragher insists David Raya and his counterparts should “be banned from playing straight balls” after a mistake from the goalkeeper nearly cost Arsenal against Crystal Palace.
The Gunners were 1-0 up thanks to a Gabriel Jesus strike before the Spaniard opted to play a pass into Thomas Partey on the edge of his own box that Ismaila Sarr nearly took advantage of.
Carragher was infuriated by the error on commentary for Sky Sports and insisted that goalkeepers should be “banned” from playing such passes as they so frequently lead to goals for the opposition.
He said: “Goalkeepers should be banned from playing straight balls. They should have to play it out wide, put an angle on it.
“This is the worst passing football – a goalkeeper who plays a straight pass. The amount of goals you see conceded in the Premier League like this. It has to stop.”
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The moment didn’t cost Mikel Arteta’s side, who went in at the break 3-1 ahead thanks to a second for Gabriel Jesus – his fifth in two games after his Carabao Cup hat-trick – and one for Kai Havertz, before Gabriel Martinelli added a fourth for the Gunners on the hour mark.
But it could prove to be a costly game for Arsenal as star winger Bukayo Saka was forced off midway through the first half when he appeared to suffer a hamstring injury.
“He put his hand up straight away,” Carragher said on commentary.
“I know he gets a little bit of ridicule at times for going down too much. But it looks like a problem.
“It will only be a problem for Arsenal if it’s serious. It looked like his hamstring when he tried to put a cross in and it got blocked.”
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Saka injured his right hamstring while on international duty in October and Arteta will be concerned it’s a recurrence of the same injury.
According to Paul Merson, Saka is the one player the Arsenal boss won’t want to be without.
“If Arteta could say one player he wouldn’t want to miss it would be Saka,” said Arsenal legend Merson. “He’s the one player, for me, he’s the first name on the teamsheet.
“You talk about Odegaard but you see him at the start of that game, Saka is different class.”
Arsenal are back in action against struggling Ipswich at the Emirates Stadium on December 27 before they travel to Brentford on New Year’s Day.
Arsenal will be on the road again three days later for a game against Brighton before their FA Cup third round clash against Manchester United on January 12.