Gary Neville blames Arsenal man for Cherki’s goal

Gary Neville believes that Gabriel should have stood up quickly to prevent Rayan Cherki from opening the scoring for Manchester City against Arsenal. The early goal proved important in a match that carried major significance in the title race.

The Frenchman opened the scoring after just 16 minutes, although Arsenal responded well by equalising only two minutes later. Even so, conceding first against a side of City’s quality always creates a difficult challenge for any opponent.

Early Goal Put Arsenal Under Pressure

City knows how to defend leads and demonstrated that again after moving in front during the second half. Falling behind initially was therefore a poor situation for Arsenal, just as it was damaging when they conceded again later in the contest.

City eventually won the game, while Arsenal were left to regret the chances they missed. However, attention will also fall on the goals they conceded, with some believing both moments could have been avoided through sharper defensive reactions.

Neville focused particularly on the opening goal and the role played by Gabriel in the build-up. He felt the defender needed to react more quickly once the second ball broke loose in a dangerous area.

Neville Gives His Verdict

Speaking about the first goal, Neville said, as quoted by the Metro: “Arsenal are shellshocked by a moment of pure class. City just win the second ball and I thought Gabriel should have got up quicker, I thought he should have got up to the ball quicker.

“As soon as he doesn’t, he’s back in his own box and it’s almost like a fielder on the edge of the boundary in cricket, the way in which Gabriel tries to tackle him. That’s not going to be enough.”

There is little value in dwelling on blame now. Arsenal instead need to focus on reproducing the overall level of their performance in their remaining fixtures, because they played a very good game despite the defeat.

If they can maintain that standard, they will give themselves a strong chance of winning the rest of their matches this season. The display showed enough quality to remain confident, even if the result was disappointing.