Gary Neville has criticised Arsenal defender, Laurent Koscielny, for not showing enough commitment.
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny scores their first goal
Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, has launched a scathing attack on some of the Arsenal players after the Gunners were held to a 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Neville, the renowned Sky Sports pundit, has heavily criticised Laurent Koscielny for his lack of commitment and leadership. The former United defender has accused Koscielny of going off in big games, implying that he is not around when the team needs him most.
“Koscielny, the centre-back, goes off at half-time. He always plays until half-time then goes off,” said Neville, as quoted by The Sun.
“Alright, he might have a bit of a problem with his Achilles and I’m being harsh,” he added.
“But he went off against Bayern Munich, he goes off in a big game today. Maybe I’m being harsh, but for me Wenger deserves Koscielny to go out in the second half and have a go. He didn’t.”
To be fair, Koscielny is being harshly criticised here. Against Bayern Munich the French defender had picked up a red card in the 55th minute, a game the Gunners eventually lost 5-1 in the second leg. However, against Manchester City it was a different scenario.
The Arsenal skipper picked up an Achilles problem at half-time, and without knowing the extent of the injury it is unfair to say whether he should have stayed on.
The 31-year-old has been arguably Arsenal’s best defender over the last few years, and questioning his commitment especially when he left the ground through injury is not smart criticism.
Wenger revealed after the match that he doesn’t know how long Koscielny will be out for. Arsenal host West Ham on Wednesday night, and the chance of Koscielny missing the game is very high.
“I don’t know how long Koscielny will be out for,” Wenger told Sky Sports. He came off at half-time with an Achilles problem. How long will that last? I don’t know.”
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny celebrates at full time
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