Arsenal secured Champions League victory against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night, but one of the Gunners’ star players was still criticized during the match.
Arsenal star Miles Lewis-Skelly has been accused of “dozing off” during the Gunners’ match against Bayern Munich. The North London outfit strengthened their hold on top of the Champions League by defeating the German giants 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Julian Timber got Mikel Arteta’s side to the perfect start, with Noni Madueke and Leandro Trossard scoring in the second half. The only blot on Arsenal’s copybook was Lennart Karl’s outstanding equalizer.
Despite the youngster’s impressive goal, former Arsenal star Paul Merson suggested academy product Lewis-Skelly should have claimed responsibility for his defensive mistakes. He told Sky Sports: “Lewis-Skelly falls asleep. It’s a diagonal ball to Gnabry, he falls asleep, Lewis-Skelly, the ball goes over his head.”
“But honestly, what a goal it was! It went over the head of Louis Skelly. Gnabry made a great run and volleyed it across goal, and Karl ran in and smashed it into the goal.”
“This is an incredible goal, an amazing goal. Karl scored a goal out of nothing. This is what they have scored in the last 775 games!”
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And while Lewis-Skelly received criticism from Merson, former Manchester United star Owen Hargreaves was far more forgiving. He claimed that Harry Kane’s contribution had rather caused further confusion for William Saliba.
“You can talk about Renato Karl, he’s an extraordinary person, but look at Harry Kane. It’s him who’s causing the havoc. He dropped a little bit deeper, Gnabry went wide and it was a great first-time pass and set,” he said.
“But look at Harry Kane there… It gives William Saliba something to think about. He’s thinking, ‘Should I go in there?’ But actually, if he had stayed in his position, he probably would have stopped the cross.
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“Credit to Gnabry for the cross, it’s great and the finishing from young Karl is great too. But when Harry dropped deep there was chaos.”
Italian defender Riccardo Calafioli replaced Lewis-Skelly, who was making his fifth start of the season against Bayern, and ultimately played a key role in setting up Maduke’s goal.
In his press conference after full-time, Arsenal manager Arteta heartily praised Calafioli’s contribution. “That’s exactly what I told him! Go wide with the ball, cross the ball between the sides of the keeper and score a goal,” he said.
“I really like his attitude and his aura. He comes in to make things happen and always plays in a positive way. It’s great when players come in with that mindset.”
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