Even Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez was left ‘surprised’ after his admittedly ‘lucky’ free-kick hit the back of the net thanks to a shocking error from Arsenal summer signing Runar Alex Runarsson.
Commentator Alan Smith exclaimed that the Iceland international dropped the ball ‘like a bar of soap’ in the massive blunder that changed the tide of the tie in the 54th minute of the Carabao Cup final.
Runarsson was stood extremely close to the post, which shocked Mahrez, the ball was fired straight at the ace, with the 25-year-old unable to get a strong hand to the ball as it bundled into the net.
Some Arsenal fans want Mikel Arteta sacked due to the decision to start Runarsson as part of a rotated side in the cup tie, as opposed to Bernd Leno.
“I was surprised at the position of the ‘keeper. He was so close to the post.”
Riyad Mahrez talks us through his free-kick that set Manchester City on their way in the second half.
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“I think it was a solid performance, we started good and then they equalised, in the second-half we scored with the lucky free-kick and we put the third one and it was more easy for us after.”
On the first-half being closely contested and potentially angering Guardiola, Mahrez responded:
“No, sometimes it’s like this, we cannot always dominate every game, we was good but we didn’t score the second one, so when you don’t score the second one – they can always score at anytime.”
“In the second-half, we scored the second and third, then made it more easy for us.”
When asked if he was surprised by Runarsson’s actions for his goal, Mahrez replied:
“Yeah, I was surprised by the position of the keeper, he was very close to the post, I thought he was going to move a little bit, so I tried to put it there, but he didn’t move and luckily he didn’t catch it properly, so it’s good for us.”
When it was reiterated that City have struggled for goals as of late, Mahrez had this to say:
“Yeah, we’ve been struggling, but it’s football, I think we’re going to come back – it’s not easy to always score four or five goals, even if it’s always been our standard.”
“Today we score four goals and concede one, I think it’s a solid performance.”
Arsenal seem to be turning every match into a nightmare as of late. We’ll have to wait and see how this hammering will impact the Gunners in their crucial Premier League ties over the festive period.