"Most ineffective we’ve seen all season" - Gary Neville claims 2 Arsenal stars were below par in 4-1 loss to Manchester City
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has slammed Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli for their poor performances in Arsenal's 4-1 loss to Manchester City.
The usually electric pair could not really trouble the City defense as the Gunners were thoroughly dominated by the defending champions.
Speaking on the Overlap YouTube channel, Neville said:
“The two young lads on the night, who I think have been leaders this season, to be fair for Arsenal — Martinelli and Saka were probably the quietest and most ineffective we’ve seen all season. And what a time for that to happen."
Saka and Martinelli have been a potent threat throughout the season as Arsenal embarked on an unlikely title charge. The duo became the first players aged 21 since Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney to have over 20 goal contributions in a season.
Gary Neville went on to suggest that Rob Holding could have done a better job. The defender, playing in place of the injured William Saliba, was torn apart by Manchester City's Erling Haaland.
Neville stated:
“When I was playing against a player who was stronger than me, which was quite often; player might be stronger, they might be taller, I thought you had to do one of two things."
“As the ball was kicked, jump in front and that’s where you can slip around them so they can’t back into you. Or you go touch-tight and you drop off at the last minute, and you make sure you don’t end up in a situation where you’re taken out of the game. People said he should’ve been more aggressive, I thought he should’ve been more cute actually."
The Gunners have suffered a massive dip in form in recent times, with no wins in the past four games which has completely shifted the momentum towards Manchester City. The north London side now lead by just two points with City having two games in hand.
Manchester City interested in Arsenal defender
Manchester City have explored the possibility of signing Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney. According to Football Insider, the Scotsman could be on the move after falling below the pecking order at Arsenal.
The arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko has seen Tierney become second choice at left back for Mikel Arteta. The Ukrainian is preferred by the manager due to his ability to play in midfield and offer more in attack.
Thus, Tierney could leave the Emirates Stadium in pursuit of more game time, with Manchester City being a possible destination.