Gary Neville has criticised Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for his tactical changes during the club’s defeat to Manchester United.
United took the lead in the first-half through new-signing Antony, but the Premier League leaders fought back well and equalised through Bukayo Saka after the break.
However, Erik ten Hag’s team answered back just minutes later, with Marcus Rashford putting the home side back in front on 66 minutes.
With his team once again searching for an equaliser at Old Trafford, Arteta elected to make an ultra-offensive triple change replacing Martin Odegaard, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Oleksandr Zinchenko with Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Eddie Nketiah.
The Arsenal boss’ decision to go balls to the wall in search of second goal would not prove to be a wise one though.
United exploited the newfound space in the Gunners’ back line on the counter, with Bruno Fernandes playing through a surging Christian Eriksen who laid the ball off to Marcus Rashford for United’s third goal, effectively killing off the game.
Speaking following the match, Neville expressed his confusion with Arteta’s second-half substitutions: ‘At 2-1, there was no need to go so desperate, so early. 20 minutes to go, I thought “this could be 4-1 or 5-1. United actually went more solid, Fred and Casemiro came on. And they just counter-attacked off the back of that. I don’t think they needed to go so desperate.’
‘What shocked Arsenal, was that second goal going in. It came against the run of play and Arsenal did not handle that point in the game well. They deserved to lose the game, because they never handled that second goal going in.’
‘Arsenal, if they kept on playing the way they were, they’d have got back into the game. Soon as they lost their shape with all those substitutions, United were always going to score that third on the counter-attack!’ The former United captain added.
Neville further alluded to Arteta’s tactical ‘naivety’, and questioned whether the club can continue the form that has seen them top the Premier League since gameweek three.
‘Last year, Arsenal, that lack of maturity was the question. They showed in that last 20 minutes a lack of maturity, no doubt. I thought they were really good today. I like watching them, they’re better last season. But, against Tottenham last season near the end, they got played a little bit. In that last 20 minutes today, there was naivety.
Arsenal will look to rebound from a disappointing defeat at Old Trafford when they travel to FC Zurich on Tuesday to begin their Europa League campaign.