Manchester United defender Phil Jones has explained his infamous crazy clearance against Arsenal from back in 2015.

Jones performed one of the most amusing clearances in Premier League history against Arsenal in 2015. The image of him stooping down to head away a ground-level ball sums up everything you need to know about the England international.

Speaking to MUTV, Jones explained it was all improvisation. “It was one of those things,” Jones said, as reported by the Manchester Evening News. “I misjudged the ball from a goal kick. The ball bounced, I slipped. I tried to get up, I slipped again.

“The only thing I could do was improvise and try to head the ball away, because Giroud was through on goal. It looked silly at the time, but it did the job. Looking back on it, it was the slipping and trying to get up stage – that was the funny part.

“All my mates take the mick out of me for it. It was just improvisation. You do what you have to do as a defender. You have to put your neck on the line.”

 

To give credit where it’s due, it takes a lot of bravery to put your head in that low. If nothing else, Jones was totally committed to the cause and determined not to concede a goal.

Granted, the moment would be perceived very differently had he missed and received Giroud’s boot to his face. The former Blackburn Rovers man has a reputation for his rugged and often unorthodox style of play.

He clearly doesn’t mind if it leads to the occassion teasing from teammates, provided he’s doing his job on the pitch.

That he initially misjudged the flight of the ball and was so clumsy he couldn’t recover to clear the ball normally is indicative of his style as a defender. I’d like to think our defenders never do such crazy clearances because they’re too smart and competent to end up in such situations in the first place.