Illan Meslier's error in Leeds United's Premier League defeat against Arsenal on Sunday left BBC Sport pundit Stephen Warnock 'astonished'.

The lowdown

Leeds slipped into the relegation zone as they fell to a 2-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium while positional rivals Everton won away to Leicester City.

It was a disastrous start for the Whites as Eddie Nketiah pounced on a heavy touch from Meslier following a back pass from Luke Ayling and lunged in to score the opener after just five minutes. Nketiah then doubled the home side's lead on 10 minutes before Ayling saw red inside the opening half-hour.

Diego Llorente halved the deficit midway through the second half, but the visitors were unable to find an equaliser.

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The latest

Warnock rates Meslier's highly but says that there was no excuse for failing to 'put his foot through' the ball in the lead-up to Nketiah's first goal. The 40-year-old also questioned Jesse Marsch's insistence on playing out from the back, claiming that it left Leeds vulnerable.

"Illan Meslier is an incredible shot stopper but you can't defend him there," he said on BBC Radio 5 Live [8 May, 2:12pm], as quoted by MOT Leeds News.

"Put your foot through it, this is the problem when you get these managers or players who want to play out from the back so often.

"I'm just astonished the way Leeds are approaching this game. They keep on trying to play out and they are caught again."

The verdict

Marsch might argue that this strategy was designed to ensure that Leeds had a foothold in the game. By kicking it long, they may simply have given the ball straight back to Arsenal and invited waves of pressure, whereas they could retain possession if they were more patient.

The problem with that tactic, though, is that there is no room for error, particularly against a Champions League-chasing team like Arsenal, and Meslier's poor touch was all it took for Arsenal to score.

The Frenchman, who joined Leeds on an initial loan basis in 2019 (he signed permanently a year later) while Marcelo Bielsa was manager at Elland Road, was his team's Young Player of the Year last season but has actually endured a difficult campaign this time around.

Data from FBRef shows that the £22,000-per-week stopper has conceded seven goals more than he 'should' have this term, based on post-shot xG.

Perhaps that's a small part of the reason why his team has struggled throughout the 2021/22 campaign.

In other news, one Spanish outlet has dropped a further update on Raphinha's future