Gary Neville details mistake Arsenal made that allowed Bruno Fernandes' goal in their 1-1 draw against Manchester United
Manchester United legend Gary Neville has pointed at Arsenal's defensive wall for Bruno Fernandes' goal in their Premier League meeting on Sunday, March 9. He believes the goal could have been prevented if the wall was 10 yards out, instead of 11.2.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville observed that the Arsenal wall was further away than needed and that helped Fernandes get the ball over them and into the net. He also noted that the Gunners made the mistake of standing their ground and not creeping forward like other teams.
"That wall looks a fair way back as well it’s giving him a chance it looks like it’s a mile away. They sing Bruno because it’s been an absolute nothing of a performance in the first half but they will go in at joy at half time. Can we put a measure on that because that wall looks absolutely miles away," Neville said. "Usually you think of a wall, a big wall like that it always looks really difficult to get it up and over like that there just seemed to be so much space. It didn’t even go that high up into the net. He couldn’t get across Raya but you fancied him and he delivered."
"Maybe they were the correct distance away, usually they’re maybe eight yard away but it just felt like the Arsenal wall were being far too generous they weren’t even creeping forward. It felt like Bruno Fernandes had plenty of space to hit it and he hit it," he added.
Arsenal, however, managed to get back in the game via a Declan Rice goal in the 74th minute but couldn't go on to find the winner despite enjoying the lion share of possession.
Mikel Arteta not happy with Arsenal players in Manchester United draw
Mikel Arteta has slammed his players' lack of efficiency in the final third against Manchester United on Sunday. Arsenal registered a total of 17 shots in the match, six of which found the target. They also had 69% of the ball and made 587 passes, more than double that of United.
Speaking after the game, a disappointed Arteta reflected on the missed opportunities (via the club's official website):
"Today, the efficiency we had in the last 20 meters, it wasn’t good enough, we know that. Those are big parts of a lot of things that the game demands when you come to Old Trafford and what we did was superb, but at the end, you have to capitalize on that when the team is so dominant and much better than the opposition and today we didn’t. Then you have to overturn a result, which we know is very difficult to do here. You have to expose yourself a little bit more because you have to take more risks and then the game could have gone their way in the last few minutes."
Arsenal have slipped up once again in the Premier League title race and are now 15 points behind leaders Liverpool, with a game in hand. Manchester United remain 14th in the table with 34 points from 28 matches.
