Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday, but Gary Neville was unimpressed with one player’s performance.
Gary Neville shares his thoughts on Arsenal’s midfield (Image: Sky Sports)
Gary Neville has criticized Martin Zvimendi’s recent performances, claiming the Arsenal midfielder’s struggles are hindering his team’s bid to win the Premier League title. On Saturday, Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-0 to move top of the league, but Neville was completely unimpressed by the sights he saw from the home team’s midfield.
Ebelesi Eze curled in from the edge of the box from a short corner to give Arsenal an early lead, and this proved enough to earn them the all-important three points. The Gunners lost their last two league games, allowing Manchester City to return to title contention, but they regained their form against the Magpies.
On a nervy night, it took a good save from David Raya and a horrifying error from Yoan Ouissa to get them over the line at the Emirates Stadium. Neville watched the game from the commentary box and identified specific issues that Mikel Arteta needed to address.
“At the beginning of the season I thought Zvimendi was a great signing,” Neville told Sky Sports. “He’s a good player for Arsenal, but at the moment we expected Zvimendi to be that player. Who is the player who will make the difference?”
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“I thought (Victor) Gokeres would score in a crucial moment to make it 2-0. That counterattack was of poor quality in the end. He has to do more than that.”
“But I thought… you think of players like (Andrea) Pirlo, or (Paul) Scholes, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, players who can dictate the play in games like this, get Arsenal the ball, organize and engage them with authority, and he hasn’t demonstrated that. He’s struggled in games and has been the same in recent weeks.
“(Martin) Odegaard is doing better. (Today) Odegaard went deeper, but the problem is that when Odegaard goes deeper, and (Declan) Rice goes deeper, and Zvimendi is already deep. In that case, there are three players in the deep areas, or certainly two players. That can’t happen.”
Martin Zvimendi’s performance against Newcastle was criticized by Gary Neville (Image: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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“We want them to rotate around each other and we want another one there to link the play with the defense and the full-backs. It felt to me today that Zvimendi, Reis and Odegaard were outplayed by Newcastle’s midfield. Newcastle had 55 percent possession and Arsenal had 45 percent, which was surprising.”
Zvimendi joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad for £51 million in the summer transfer window and has been a key player in Arteta’s side this season. He played in 50 games in all competitions, scoring six goals and providing three assists.
The 27-year-old midfielder has started all but one of Arsenal’s 34 league games and is certain to feature for Spain at this summer’s World Cup if he survives the final month of the season without injury.
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