Gary Neville has said that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were poor in the second half, which ultimately seemed to have led to their demise against Pep Guardiola’s Man City in their 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
While the hosts dominated proceedings for a majority of the first half, the visitors took control of the contest after the break, as Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland added to Kevin De Bruyne’s opener, rendering Bukayo Saka’s equaliser from the penalty spot, which also got a reaction from the Sky pundit as a mere consolation goal on the night.
However, Gary Neville seemingly saw the downfall of Arsenal against Man City before the rest, as their second half showing ultimately cost them in a game that could decide the Premier League title.
Gary Neville says Arsenal were poor in the second half vs Man City
The champions of England, on the other hand bounced back from a ropey first half to prove why they have been the best team in the country during the Guardiola era.
As Arsenal were slowly but surely deteriorating in the second half against Man City, Gary Neville tweeted, “So surprised how Arsenal have been [in the] second half! Looks too much for them! 20 minutes to show up!”
Gary Neville was spot on
While City took the lead via a sumptuous Kevin De Bruyne finish, who Martin Odegaard admitted to looking up to that was down to an individual error from Takehiro Tomiyasu, as their tactic of playing percentage football backfired against the Gunners.
As Gary Neville said, if Arsenal just took control of the game against Man City in the second half, things could have gone south. And well, they did and how.
Whether that is through a lack of experience in title races, a dearth in quality in comparison to their rivals or just being overwhelmed by proceedings is a debate that will rage on for a number of weeks.
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