Man United vs Everton: Solskjaer defends De Gea after mistake
David de Gea’s below-par form at Manchester United will be largely because of the change in goalkeeper coach earlier this season, reckons Arsenal legend Ian Wright. De Gea was guilty of a huge error that gifted Everton an early goal in the 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday. The Spaniard dwelled too long on the ball and his attempted clearance cannoned off Toffees striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and into the United net.
It was not the first high-profile error De Gea has made this season after allowing Ismaila Sarr’s tame shot through his hands in the defeat to Watford in December.
And Wright reckons a reason for his form is due to goalkeeper coach Emilio Alvarez leaving the club in September 2019.
De Gea has known Alvarez for a number of years having worked with him at previous club Atletico Madrid.
Wright expressed the importance of the relationship between a goalkeeper and his coach but admitted De Gea still should not have made the error on Sunday.
Man Utd news: Ian Wright says a change in goalkeeper coach has affected David de Gea (Image: GETTY/BBC)
“[The relationship is] massive, honestly the relationship with David Seaman and Bob Wilson [at Arsenal], it was almost telepathic in what they were doing, they were so tight all of them, everybody that was involved,” Wright said on Match of the Day 2.
“The goalkeepers, you need that guy. That guy is like your confidante, he’s everything.
“So if you lose somebody that important, that integral to what you’re doing, that’s going to have some effect on you so I’ll give [De Gea] that absolutely.
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"But David's shown his reaction, the way he made amends and saved Sigurdsson's goal, or chance, at the end.
“David's the best goalkeeper in the world, Dean is a very good challenger and then Sergio [Romero]'s a decent challenger as well.
"We want a squad full of quality and with competition and if you want to survive at the top you need to bounce off competitions from right, left and centre.
"He went through a difficult patch last season, definitely, but David's been very, very good this season.
“I can't really remember any errors I'd go to now, apart from the Watford one. I trust David 100 per cent in the goal."