Gary Neville has said that a key reason why Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United is because of their lack of top-quality attacking options on the bench.
It was telling that the only substitution Mikel Arteta made against Newcastle was replacing Ben White for Takehiro Tomiyasu at right-back.
Perhaps the only senior players on the bench that could potentially have made the difference for Arsenal were Fabio Vieira and Marquinhos.
However, it is fair to say that neither of the players are bankable impact substitutes, especially against a defensive as compact as Newcastle.
In addition, the pair would not be backed to do the business amidst the circumstances of a Premier League title race that Arsenal find themselves in.
As a result, Arteta seemingly decided to entrust all his starting attacking players to find an answer eventually.
But to the Spaniard and the Gooners’ frustration, the hosts simply found it impossible to break down the Magpies on Tuesday night.
One man has pointed out exactly why.
Gary Neville says lack of quality bench options cost Arsenal against Newcastle
Gary Neville has claimed that a dearth of game-changers off the bench was a huge reason why Arsenal failed to beat Newcastle United, as they were held to a 0-0 draw.
“Ordinarily, Arsenal would bring on substitutions, change the shape of the game, disrupt the Newcastle defence. But Arsenal don’t have that luxury and it’s a big problem, particularly in tight games like this.”
“We’re only 17 games into the season, there’s 21 games left. We knew before the game that Arsenal needed improvements in their squad and this, I’m sure will reinforce that”, Neville said on Sky Sports.
It’s hard to disagree with Gary Neville, as an impact substitution would have helped Arsenal in finding an eventual winner against Newcastle.
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