Alex Tettey leapt to the defence of ‘fantastic’ goalkeeper Tim Krul after the Norwich City number one’s costly mistake during last night’s painful 4-0 defeat at Arsenal.

The Canaries’ first away game in four months turned when Krul tried to turn Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang instead of clear the ball and gave the Gunners an easy lead just after the half hour.

Slack defending soon saw Granit Xhaka double the lead and a Josip Drmic error allowed Aubameyang to make it three, before Cedric Soares put the icing on the cake for the hosts with a fourth.

“I don’t know how many times Tim has saved us this season,” Tettey said of the man in pole position to be voted City’s player of the season. “So for me personally after the game I gave him all my support and he’s given me all of his support throughout this campaign.

“He’s been a fantastic goalkeeper for us, he has my full support, I’m with him and this is the sort of thing that happens in football. That can happen to anyone.

“I’m proud of him for being mentally strong and going through the game as he did, he has my full support.”

Daniel Farke was an angry man during and after the game and Tettey admitted the City squad were feeling very low after their fourth successive defeat.

The former Norway midfielder, who had to step into defence as Timm Klose was banned, added: “Obviously everyone’s mood wasn’t great, conceding four goals. It wasn’t what we came out here to try and achieve so the mood is not great.”

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Tettey did feel there were signs of encouragement after Farke reacted by bringing Drmic, Adam Idah and Onel Hernandez on at half-time, in place of Teemu Pukki, Emi Buendia and Tom Trybull.

Idah and Hernandez both went close and Ben Godfrey had hit the post in the first half, so the Canaries’ longest serving current player felt the third goal was a particularly damaging blow.

“I felt like if we got one goal back in that period it would have changed everything,” he continued. “Things were starting to happen for us, I really believed that we could get one goal back and that would probably have changed the game for us.

“When they go up 3-0, with us giving a goal away like that, it just kills everything doesn’t it.”