“Got to take the handbrake off” Gary Neville On Arsenal’s Title Hopes

Arsenal and Man City share the loot while Neville questions Arteta’s risk taking

Gary Neville’s podcast, with Neville joined by Peter Drury, delivered one of his most fascinating dissections of Arsenal and Manchester City after their 1-1 draw in the Emirates. It is a late equalizer who assured Arsenal a point, but the conversation that followed focused on the tactical change of Pep Guardiola and the reluctance of Mikel Arteta to fully release his attack options.

Gary Neville admitted: “Pep Guardiola uses a way of playing that I have never seen before, but I really liked. He went to 5-4-1 and decided that he was just going to manage the game without the ball. ” The switch of the director of the city of Manchester was presented as a deliberate response to the air threat of Arsenal. Neville explained: “Arsenal is a pony in a turn, shots, just such a large percentage of their chances and their goals … He has nine giants on the field just to be able to direct and they did it absolutely perfectly.”

This defensive structure was held until the time of stopping, when the bent race of Gabriel Martinelli and the finish broke the resistance of the city. Neville thought about the Laps of Laps: “We all simply fell together five, six yards and they literally head. But they did not do it, and that’s what it is. It can happen with a good game, the big pass of Eze, Martinelli’s race, timing, the finish was fantastic.”

Neville underlined the development of Erling Haaland as more than a pure scorer. “I love Haaland, I think he is a brilliant center forward. He has intensified in recent weeks in terms of leadership and his general performance in recent weeks. He is really engaged, he is engaged in his own box that directs him and he is committed to fighting with Gabriel and Saliba. ”

For Neville, the evolution of the city far from pure possession was striking. “It’s another Manchester City. Much more physical, much more direct, less football than before. Do not get me wrong, there are still very good players for the city, but it’s a full turnaround.”

The conversation then greatly turned to Arsenal’s desire to win the title of Premier League. Neville was clear: “My problem is that we start an arsenal review of a very high bar. We are talking about the last step, going from the second to the first, and it’s a huge step … You have to win a title, otherwise you will not remember.”

Its strongest criticism occurred during the analysis of Arteta’s selections. “His actions at halftime were from a manager who, I think, was wrong because if you are making two substitutions at halftime, it did not go as planned. You gave 45 minutes in a big match.” Neville insisted that the Arsenal attack was too limited: “Arsenal not creating enough chance in these types of games. They score a lot of goals from parts … but it’s not good enough. They have Saka, Martinelli, Ødegaard, Havertz, so a lot of talent. What prevents them from becoming a thrill when they attack?

The scheme, he argued, was coherent: “Attacking substitutions only occur when they are not broken down.

Neville’s central point has returned to mentality. “Do they really believe, number one, that they can win the League? Do they really believe? Do they really think every minute of every day? Because that’s what it takes.”

For Manchester City, Guardiola’s tactical innovation was proof of the flexibility of a champion, even if the execution has vacillated at the last moment. For Arsenal, the draw did not do much to calm the questions on the question of whether Arteta and his team really know how to make the decisive jump.

As Neville summed up with a mixture of admiration and skepticism: “I have a lot of love for them and I love them, but they have to remove the handbrake.”