David de Gea pays price for being too 'arrogant', say pundits

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane blasted "arrogant" David de Gea for his blunder in Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Everton on Sunday.

The United goalkeeper's attempted clearance came off Toffees forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin's leg and went into his own net after just three minutes at Goodison Park.

Keane attributed the gaffe to de Gea's arrogance and said that he wouldn't have spared the United No. 1 at half-time.

"Whether I was a player or a manager, I'd have killed him," Keane told Sky Sports.

"What is de Gea waiting for? It's crazy. There's almost a bit of arrogance to him. I would have lynched him at half-time. There are no excuses."

Keane wasn't the only pundit who blamed de Gea's mistake on his arrogance.

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and talkSPORT host Jamie O'Hara was also miffed with the Spain international for dallying on the ball for seven seconds.

"De Gea is paid to make good saves," said O'Hara on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.

"He's on big money. He should be making saves in crucial moments in games, and what you can't accept is him doing what he's doing, where he's taken seven seconds - just do it quickly!

"It's unacceptable, that's something you see in non-league and, even then, you'd be going mad at your goalkeeper for doing something like that.

"A player like David cannot afford to make a mistake like that. He's arrogant, for me. That's his problem, he's arrogant. He thinks he's better than he actually is."

The 29-year-old's latest blunder is the seventh he has made since the start of the last English Premier League season, the joint-most alongside Newcastle's Martin Dubravka and Bernd Leno of Arsenal.

It has been a concern for United, prompting serious consideration of replacing de Gea with Dean Henderson, who has been impressive while on loan at Sheffield United.

CLEAN SHEETS

De Gea has seven clean sheets in the league, while the 22-year-old Englishman has nine for the Blades, who are two points behind United in the EPL standings, with a game in hand.

However, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has backed his current No. 1, while also praising Henderson.

"We want the best possible squad for Man United. David, for me, is the best goalkeeper in the world," said Solskjaer.

"Dean is a very good challenger and Sergio (Romero) is a challenger as well. We want a squad that's full of quality with competition of course...

"Dean is doing really well at the moment and, the day he comes back, he's obviously fighting to play here as well.

"But David showed on Sunday his reaction and the way he made amends (in the Everton game).

"He went through a difficult patch last season, but David has been very, very good this season. I can't really remember any errors apart from the Watford one. I trust him 100 per cent in the goal."

However, Graeme Souness believes Chelsea should make a move for de Gea in the summer.

"I'm a big fan of Henderson who is impressing at Sheffield," the former Liverpool manager told Sky Sports.

"I remember he made a mistake against Liverpool earlier in the season and his manager wasn't kind to him, but he appears to have learnt from that. He appears to have a big personality.

"De Gea, I would imagine would be one of the best-paid players at United. Could you have him sitting on the bench on whatever he's earning and not causing problems?

"Would there be takers for him? You look at the situation at Chelsea and they might make a nibble for him.

"It's a big decision for Ole to make and that's what he's paid for. It's a big, big call."

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David de Gea has made seven errors leading directly to an opposition goal in the Premier League since the start of last season, the joint-most alongside Martin Dubravka and Bernd Leno.