Manchester United legend, Gary Neville has pinpointed the mistake made by Arsenal leading to Bruno Fernandes’ freekick goal in the first half of the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
Fernandes put United in front in the first half of the Premier League meeting before Declan Rice drew level for the Gunners in the second half.
Nevile believes that Arsenal’s defensive wall for Fernandes’ goal was very poor, adding that the goal could have been prevented if the wall was 10 yards out, instead of 11.2.
Performing his punditry duties on Sky Sports, Neville observed that the Gunners’ wall was further away than needed and that helped Fernandes get the ball over them and into the net.
He also noted that Mikel Arteta’s side made the mistake of standing their ground and not creeping forward like other teams.
He said, “That wall looks a fair way back as well it’s giving him a chance it looks like it’s a mile away.
“Can we put a measure on that because that wall looks absolutely miles away.
“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.”
“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 could not go on to find the winner despite enjoying the lion share of possession, confirming Liverpool’s 15 points lead in the race for the 2024-25 Premier League title.
