Gary Neville took aim at Arsenal’s apparent set-piece ‘obsession’ after Liverpool beat Manchester City to maneuver 11 points clear of the Gunners at the highest of the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s men fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham on Saturday to fall further behind within the title race, with Jarrod Bowen heading home the one goal of the sport in front of a shellshocked Emirates crowd.
Twenty 4 hours later, Liverpool tightened their grip on top spot with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over champions City.
Mohamed Salah’s magnificent run of form continued on the Etihad, with the Egyptian opening the scoring before assisting Dominik Szoboszlai for the visitors’ second within the thirty seventh minute on the Etihad.
Curtis Jones thought he had found a 3rd for the Reds midway through the second period however the video assistant referee ruled that the midfielder was in an offside position and the goal was disallowed.
Talking to Sky Sports shortly after the ultimate whistle, Neville showered Liverpool boss Arne Slot with praise and suggested ‘questions will begin to be asked’ of Arteta’s injury-hit Arsenal for falling short once more.
And never for the primary time, the legendary ex-Manchester United and England right-back criticised the north London outfit for being overly depending on set-pieces across their campaign.
‘Questions will begin to be asked because, a bit bit like that Leicester season when a few the opposite teams didn’t win it and also you begin to ask questions of those teams, “Hang on a minute, Leicester went and won it”, and it’s that variety of season where you’re thinking that it was up for grabs,’ Neville said.
‘Arne Slot has are available in, recent manager, Jurgen Klopp has left… I felt that there could be a drop-off at Liverpool, just the Klopp impact and the effect but he’s been such a cool customer, Arne Slot, from day one.
‘He’s had complete control and the best way he’s adapted this team, I don’t think it’s a mirror of Klopp in any respect, it’s very different. I like the best way they play in several styles in halves, let alone from game to game.
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‘For Arsenal, they’ve turn into quite rigid, they’ve turn into quite turgid at times to look at. This obsession with set-pieces, it was almost overtaking the entire game, exacerbated by the presence of the set-piece coach on the touchline.
‘That puts more give attention to the set-pieces and I feel like the liberty has gone a bit bit from them.
‘I do know they’ve lost [Bukayo] Saka, [Gabriel] Jesus and [Kai] Havertz that are big blows, let’s be clear, that may be a big problem for Arsenal, but I still think you may have to try this job at home to West Ham.’
Micah Richards claimed Arsenal bosses will likely be ‘kicking themselves’ for failing to sign a top striker in January and Neville agreed that the club’s quiet transfer window had left them desperately short.
‘They didn’t need to do business within the January transfer window. They thought possibly there wasn’t quite the worth out there or they couldn’t get the player who would are available in and impact them. But they’ve left themselves short, there’s little question about that,’ he added.
‘They’ve fallen short and even without top players, they still had to try this job yesterday.
‘I believe over the past two seasons they’ve gone very close and I’ve got quite a lot of admiration for them.
‘This season is more of an issue for them than the last two because when City weren’t going to be there, the team that needed to be there have been Arsenal, in my mind, due to the growth and the way close they were getting.
‘It’s not going to be them it looks like and that’s the massive shock and surprise and that’s what is going to hit hardest in that Arsenal boardroom, Mikel Arteta, and with the dressing room and the players because they’re eager to win a title.
‘They were inching nearer so it’s a blow and yesterday… look, it could occur. But Liverpool have dropped points in these last eight games, Liverpool have drawn two within the last three and 4 within the last eight.
‘Arsenal have had a probability to get back closer, they might have gone inside five points yesterday so it’s an enormous blow, a very big blow.’
The Gunners, who’ve a game in hand over Liverpool, will look to return to winning ways away to third-placed Nottingham Forest on the City Ground on Wednesday night.
Leaders Liverpool, meanwhile, entertain Newcastle for what guarantees to be an intriguing contest on Merseyside.
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