Horrific Howler: Robert Sanchez

Every few days, an absolute howler seems to present itself in the football world. This time around, it was Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's turn.

Not for the almost-penalty decision many are saying should have been awarded to Arsenal after he smashed into Gabriel Jesus while attempting to punch a ball away from his penalty area last Saturday, but more for the sloppy pass that led to the Gunners' first goal to get them back in the game. 

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Although the error is a bad one, it is more the effect the goal, and ultimately the result, had on the team and its season at large.

Before we dive into the deeper, underlying effects Sanchez's howler has on the side, there are some honourable mentions. Firstly, the Football Association have put themselves in the spotlight this week for their handling of the Alejandro Garnacho-Andre Onana situation. 

A post by the 19-year-old Manchester United winger that included a picture of himself celebrating with Onana after his last-minute penalty save against FC Copenhagen in a UEFA Champions League encounter included two gorilla emojis in the caption. 

Now, despite deleting the post once he realised how it may have been perceived as racist, the Argentine is reportedly facing a probe by the FA even after Onana came out and said: "People cannot choose what I should be offended by. I know exactly what Garnacho meant: power and strength. This matter should go no further." 

The organisation still, however, requested observations on it. Yes, racism is still an issue that puts an ugly stain on the beautiful game and needs to be handled with strictness. However, it was communication between two teammates and already seems to be cleared up. There is absolutely no need for the FA to have got involved after Onana's statement. It's bad decision-making on their part, but hopefully they will keep this energy when a real racial incident occurs. 

Meanwhile, the Premier League itself is the other honourable mention! They are reportedly considering deducting 12 points from Everton if they are found guilty of breaching financial rules. Where was this energy when Manchester City were accused of breaching more than 100 financial charges? 

"Man City are going to end up in the National League North if the PL get their way," former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

"Unbelievable the amount of stories that come out about Everton's situation, but Man City's, which has 114 more charges and has gone on for much longer, has gone very quiet."

The EPL, on this occasion, has fumbled the situation badly. Almost as badly as Sanchez did. 

Chelsea have had a poor start to the season, but showed glimpses of positivity in all of their fixtures. It was as if everything was in place but they just couldn't quite bring it all together. All they needed was the cherry on top. 

That cherry is a metaphor for goals in this case. Looking at the stats, as obvious as it may seem, Chelsea are underperforming their expected goals (xG); according to Under Stat, the Blues have an xG of 17.51 and have only scored 13 league goals up until now. So, theoretically, Chelsea should have been fourth on the table. 

A win at Arsenal could have been the catalyst to completely turn their season around! However, this was not to be and how the first goal was conceded symbolises the London club's fortunes so far in this campaign. 

With Chelsea 2-0 up by the 75th minute, although you could make the argument that the pass should have been received better, it does not change the fact that it was a sloppy pass, perhaps due to a lapse of concentration. These sorts of things happen in football, but they should not be happening at the highest level, especially when you're 2-0 up against one of the league's better teams, on the verge of recording an incredible, morale-boosting victory. 

The spark that would have arisen from that victory could have been what was needed to really kick-start the Blues' campaign. It seemed luck was on their side after they won a penalty and Mikhaylo Mudryk's accidental wonder-goal. However, it certainly wasn't on Sanchez's side. 

Now the match against Arsenal will be seen as a "what if" moment. It's still relatively early in the season, but Chelsea fans will be hoping that their fortunes change from now. Their next challenge comes in the form of Brentford, whom they host at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. 

To be fair to Sanchez, he has not had a horrible season at all. He just had one of those moments. Unfortunately, it came at a very bad time. In nine league games, he has managed to keep three clean sheets and has a save percentage of 71% after stopping 22 out of 31 shots for the club he joined in the most recent transfer window. 

There were a few other goalkeeping errors that transpired during the course of the week.

And if you missed it, Liverpool's Caoimhín Kelleher also had a howler, but it was overshadowed by the team's overall fantastic performance in their 5-1 thumping of Toulouse in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. 

With how the game has developed, most teams are adamant about playing out from the back these days. Given its benefits, this is quite understandable. \

Sometimes, though, you just want to see a keeper revert to basics and boot the ball out of danger! 

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