Arteta Warns Leno

Mikel Arteta warned Bernd Leno and Arsenal after the goalkeeper’s mistake almost made them lose to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League match.

Two goals in four minutes from David Luiz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ensured the Gunners’ 2-1 victory after Taxiarchis Fountas put the hosts ahead in the match in Austria.

Fountas took advantage of Leno’s mistake to open the scoring and the Arsenal goalkeeper’s two more errors gave the Greek national striker a chance to finish.

Leno has now made eight errors that have been the cause of opposing goals in all tournaments since the start of the 2018-19 season, the third highest record in the English Premier League behind David de Gea (9) and Jordan Pickford (11).

Arteta encouraged his team to start the movement from below but acknowledged there were situations where removing the ball was a better option.

“It’s part of the game,” he told reporters.

“We need to understand when we can do it and when we need to get the ball out.

“They will have a better understanding of the types of games we need in the area and who needs to be involved to deal with the pressures that come.

“We knew it was going to be a tough match. We made it even harder by getting bogged down early in the game.

“I really like the reaction given. In the second half, we better understand the space we need to attack.

“Overall, we scored two goals, the second goal was great. We are happy to start with the victory,” he said.