Neville: Talk about embarrassing issues where senior players went missing at man city
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has blasted veteran Arsenal players after the loss to Manchester City.
The Gunners crumbled 4-1 on Wednesday night to give City the title advantage.
Speaking of The Overlap, Neville said: “I look at Martin Odegaard, a fantastic professional. Oleksandr Zinchenko, a great professional.
“But if you actually get to the highest pressure moments in the biggest games at the heart of the season, are they in the lead? “Arsenal’s senior players, Partey, Zinchenko, Odegaard, at their toughest time – when those younger players like Saka and Martinelli needed that guidance, Jesus needed to be told to stop running and stand up front and be really disciplined in the way you play – they haven’t had any impact on the rest of their team-mates on the pitch, I don’t think.”
Gary Neville criticizes Arsenal’s management team
Speaking of The Overlap, Neville said: “I see Martin Odegaard, a fantastic professional. Oleksandr Zinchenko, a great professional. But if you actually hit peak pressure moments in big games at the crux of the season, are they leaders?
“Arsenal’s senior players, Partey, Zinchenko, Odegaard, at their toughest time – when those younger players like Saka and Martinelli needed that guidance, Jesus had to tell them to stop running and just be up front and had to be really disciplined in how you play – they haven’t affected the rest of their team-mates on the pitch, I don’t think.”
He added, “In fact, they’ve contributed to the struggles they’ve had in games.
“Xhaka at Anfield, Partey’s performance in the last two games, I think Zinchenko also gave away a goal in a game – the game against Liverpool and maybe West Ham too – and probably Odegaard also had his toughest game against Manchester City.
“And then if you think about the conversation Zinchenko had [against Southampton] and then Odegaard came in and said ‘break’.
“So those four players who are the leaders of that team haven’t been able – at a time when those younger players needed to – to really bring them together and keep them calm and composed. That has been clear to me over the last few weeks.”