Michael Owen believes an Arsenal star should be calling his team-mate out in the dressing room after the Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw by Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
The Gunners needed a victory to keep their fading title hopes alive while also cementing second place, but were pegged back twice by their London rivals.
Palace’s second equaliser came after William Saliba gave the ball away cheaply to Jean-Philippe Mateta, who turned away from Martin Odegaard before delicately chipping the ball over David Raya and into the net.
Saliba’s mistake was clear for all to see and came just a week after he also gifted Real Madrid a goal at the Bernabeu, but Owen was also unimpressed by Raya’s positioning and claimed Saliba should be angry with his goalkeeper for leaving his goal unguarded and not giving him a viable passing option.
Speaking on Premier League Productions, Owen explained: ‘Everybody knows Raya takes big angles. But once the angle is a closed one, once Saliba is about to go wide to Timber, or potentially (back inside), Raya should be sprinting back to make his new angle just in case he comes back.
‘He [Raya] was never, ever going to be in the game and I feel sorry for Saliba because all he does is make one mistake in many ways.
William Saliba gave the ball away cheaply for Crystal Palace’s second goal on Wednesday
David Raya was also caught out of position as Jean-Philippe Mateta chipped him from distance
Michael Owen thinks Saliba should be screaming at Raya for not getting back in his goal
‘If I was Saliba there I would be going into the dressing room screaming at Raya, screaming at him.
‘Okay, make an angle, that’s fine, help me out sometimes, but if you’re in doubt just get in a position where I can always pass to you. When I’m in trouble, at least I can go safe.’
Saliba and Raya have been key to Arsenal’s defensive solidity over the past two seasons, and the Gunners have conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League this term.
However, Owen is convinced they should still be demanding more from each other at such a critical stage in the season.
Mikel Arteta’s men will face PSG next week in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final and must cut out their costly errors if they are to progress to the final.
Arsenal have dropped 18 points from winning positions in the league in 2024-25, leaving Liverpool on the brink of their 20th title.
Ex-Gunners defender Martin Keown is concerned that ‘sloppiness’ has become an issue for Arsenal, and that they may have taken their eye off the ball domestically ahead of their shot at European glory.
‘I think Saliba, if I’m working with him [I am saying], “don’t switch off”,’ Keown said.
Mateta punished Arsenal with a sublime finish as the Gunners dropped another two points
Martin Keown is concerned that ‘sloppiness’ has become an issue for Mikel Arteta’s side
‘The game they played against Real Madrid, the goalkeeper rolled it out to him just after they scored and it’s as if he hasn’t got a picture, he wasn’t alert.
‘It’s twice now that’s happened in successive games – he just needs to sharpen up.
‘I think it’s crept in because of the sloppiness with Arsenal just trying to see out games, tonight was a victory in not getting injuries, because there’s a huge game coming up and I think when you’re just down from 100 per cent, you make mistakes.’