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What's the story?
Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno believes that compatriot Shkodran Mustafi does not owe anyone an apology following the Gunners' home loss to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
In case you didn't know...
The Gunners succumbed to a costly 2-3 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace, squandering the opportunity to go ahead of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the Premier League table.
Unai Emery's men are battling Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester United for a top-four finish in a race that is proving to be as intense as the Premier League title chase itself.
After Mesut Ozil cancelled out Christian Benteke's opener on Sunday, Mustafi made a terrible mistake to gift Wilfried Zaha a decisive goal. The German defender has been at the receiving end of a ton criticism ever since, but Leno has now come out in his defence.
The heart of the matter
Speaking to Goal, Leno said, "There are so many mistakes in the game. Every goal is about mistakes so it is not a big problem when someone loses the ball and we concede a goal."
"It’s not a big problem because we are one team, we stay together so everything is easy."
When asked if Mustafi had apologised to him for his error, he replied, "No, we are one team. We win together and we lose together. It’s not that one player has to apologise for a mistake."
"It was maybe a wrong decision for the second goal but you can’t change it. Mistakes happen. I think there was 30 minutes still to play so we had big time still to win the game."
The Arsenal shot-stopper also opened up about what it was like in the dressing room after the loss. He revealed, "It was very quiet, everybody was disappointed and frustrated because it was a big chance."
"But when the manager came in he said ‘no worries, it’s a disappointing result and a disappointing day but we have to look forward to the next game because qualification for the Champions League is still in our hands’. Against Wolves, we have another chance."
What's next?
Arsenal will look to get their campaign back on track and revive their hopes of securing Champions League football next season when they face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league later tonight.
