Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Football London
Football London
Sport
Amie Wilson

Arsenal fans noticed what Granit Xhaka tried to do about Bernd Leno's goal kicks against Watford

Much has been made about Arsenal's goal kicks in the 2-2 draw with Watford.

The new rules introduced to the Premier League this season means that the kick now doesn't have to leave the penalty area before being touched by a teammate.

It was these new rules that caused problems for Unai Emery's men at Vicarage Road on Sunday. The Hornets' first goal was from Sokratis giving the ball to the Watford attacker putting pressure on the Arsenal defender.

Of the 16 goal kicks took by Bernd Leno, only three left the area, allowing Watford to apply immediate pressure onto the defender with the ball, something they did with a lot of success.

One solution could have been to abandon the plan of playing goal kicks short and start to kick them longer to get the ball further up the pitch, and a in a clip, one fan has noticed that Granit Xhaka was of a similar opinion.

In the 64th minute, Leno had another goal kick, and the players were lining up to again play it short.

Watford 2-2 Arsenal: Unai Emery post-match press conference

However, the clip shows that Xhaka was not keen on the short option, encouraging the Arsenal goalkeeper to kick it long by waving his arms, a piece of advice that Leno took for the first time in the match.

Whether it will be advice that is used in future games is still to be seen.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.