Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya called out by former Premier League and England star for throwing team-mate William Saliba under the bus during draw with Crystal Palace

Saliba made his second mistake leading to a goal in a week, as he gave away the ball to Crystal Palace's Jean-Philippe Mateta during Arsenal's 2-2 Premier League draw at the Emirates. The draw has all but dimmed their already dwindling hopes of winning the Premier League title against Liverpool, who are now 12 points clear with a game in hand over the Gunners.

Saliba's second mistake in the last three games for Arsenal has received a lot of criticism from fans and pundits alike; however, Premier League legend Owen has now questioned goalkeeper Raya's positioning during the incident as he claims that the Spanish goalkeeper did not give Saliba a proper backup option to pass to when he gave away the ball to Mateta.

Speaking to the Premier League Productions, Owen said: "Everybody knows Raya takes big angles. But once the angle is a closed one, once Saliba is about to go wide to Timber, or potentially (back inside), Raya should be sprinting back to make his new angle just in case he comes back.

"He [Raya] was never, ever going to be in the game, and I feel sorry for Saliba because all he does is make one mistake in many ways. If I was Saliba, there I would be going into the dressing room screaming at Raya, screaming at him. Okay, make an angle, that’s fine, help me out sometimes, but if you’re in doubt, just get in a position where I can always pass to you. When I’m in trouble, at least I can go safe."

The Gunners have only one chance of winning silverware as they are almost out of the Premier League title battle and will take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-final next week. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has now claimed that Mikel Arteta's side have taken their eyes off the ball domestically as they battle for European glory. He said: "I think Saliba, if I’m working with him [I am saying], 'don’t switch off. The game they played against Real Madrid, the goalkeeper rolled it out to him just after they scored and it’s as if he hasn’t got a picture, he wasn’t alert.

"It’s twice now that’s happened in successive games – he just needs to sharpen up. I think it’s crept in because of the sloppiness with Arsenal just trying to see out games, tonight was a victory in not getting injuries, because there’s a huge game coming up and I think when you’re just down from 100 per cent, you make mistakes."