Gary Neville felt Jurrien Timber was sorely missed against Manchester City and Arsenal were ‘hugely hampered’ by the apparent shortcomings of Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera going forward.
Arsenal came out struggling after picking up just one win in their previous five outings in all competitions, but Erling Haaland’s second-half strike ultimately proved decisive at the Etihad.
Kai Havertz’s equalizer – gifted to Arsenal by Gianluigi Donnarumma – had given the visitors hope of a declared away win, with the striker’s effort disallowed Rayan Cherki’s sublime opener just a moment ago.
Mikel Arteta’s side were punished for their wastefulness in front of goal in the second half, however, ensuring hosts City closed the gap at the summit to just three points.
Pep Guardiola‘s team, who have a game in hand against Arsenal, will take top spot if they do their best by fighting Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.
“I believe today, I believe Wednesday, I believed a week ago because I see them every day and I know the level we have,” Arteta told reporters immediately after Arsenal’s failure.
“But today, if they need to be more confident, I think they are more confident now. We’re talking about it in the dressing room.
“Now it’s a new league. We have three points, they have the game in hand.
“Everything is still to play for. We know how much we love it and we won’t stop!”
Arsenal will be eager to get their title shot back on track when they return to action at home to an out-of-form Newcastle side next weekend.
Breakdown of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash on it Sky Sports Podcast, Former Manchester United and England defender Neville made sure to single out Bernardo Silva for special praise after an ‘above-and-beyond’ display.
‘Bernardo Silva in the second half, what a performance that is just to clinch a game,” said Neville.
“I think people are sometimes surprised when I talk about it Paul Scholesin his last five or six years Manchester United career, grabbing a football match by the scruff of the neck, controlling and dominating its speed.
“What we’ve just seen there from Bernardo Silva is absolutely above and beyond.
“He just won Victor Gyokeres on a header at the back post, he is pressing two minutes later, and he represents it Manchester City are: that experience, that knowledge, but also that energy, that professionalism.
“I thought he was absolutely sensational in the second half and he just stepped up.
‘In some ways, Arsenal there were some good chances. God bless you hitting the post Kai HavertzThe header, what a moment that is.
“But City just topped that with the win, but they also topped it in the performance levels in the second half.”
Neville, who backed Arsenal to win the title earlier in the season, was encouraged by the Gunners’ performance in the context of their recent performances.
But the eight-time Premier League winner is convinced City have now got the ‘moment’ firmly in their favor ahead of their trip to Burnley in midweek.
“My take on Arsenal today is that this is the best way they could have lost,” continued Neville.
“I know the big talk before the game was the bottling, the freezing, the anxiety, the nervousness, the pressure… I actually think they handled the situation very well and that’s positive.
“They didn’t come here today and play, they didn’t come here today and have no idea. I thought they played a good game of football, one of the best performances I’ve seen here from an away team to be honest.
So for Arsenal, it’s as good as it gets. But you are dealing with a cheater and that cheater is Pep Guardiola.
“Manchester City have won title after title in the last seven or eight years and they have just stolen ahead at the right time, they have that momentum and they will go ahead on Wednesday. They will beat Burnley at Burnley.
“There is still a way to go, it will be difficult now for Arsenal, but how they recover psychologically from this will be very important.”
Neville singled out Havertz for particular praise, while applauding Hincapie and Mosquera for ‘staying on task’ and frustrating City from a defensive point of view.
But according to Neville, the continued lack of full-backs meant Arsenal were ‘stuck’ when it came to building attacks from the left and right flank.
“Arsenal were extremely hampered by their full-backs,” he explained.
“I thought actually they did a good job, Hincapie and Mosquera, they really stuck to their job, but they’re limited on the ball.
So if you think about Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly for City, or how Jurrien Timber or Riccardo Calafiori or others are for Arsenal, they were just blocked.
“You don’t have that finesse on the ball or that skill, that sure, consistent, reliable ability to feed the ball, touch and pass well and get it into your forwards and midfield because they’re effectively centre-backs, not full-backs.
“So I thought they were up to the task, Arsenal’s two full-backs, but you lose a lot when you lose Timber, you lose a lot. He’s got a bit of energy going forward, he links up really well.
“I’m not mentioning Bukayo Saka because any player can get injured, so Noni Madueke is there, Gabriel Martinelli is there, you can’t complain about Saka.
“But I think losing both of their defenders would have cost them today in terms of possession and ability to go forward.
Who will win the Premier League title?
Arsenal came close to equalizing for the second time at the death as Havertz missed a golden chance to head home and cancel out Haaland’s earlier strike.
Neville was impressed by Havertz’s all-round performance, but there is no doubt the German will rue his missed opportunity at the death over the coming days.
“I thought Arsenal lost the game because you can lose here. You can play well, do well in the game and still lose here,” he continued.
“I’m sure Mikel Arteta will point to the chances, Eberechi Eze’s hit the post, Havertz’s chance at the end… they had really good moments and didn’t take them.
“The Havertz chance towards the end is a big moment.”
For more stories like this, check our sports page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter AND Instagram.
MORE: Alan Shearer makes a confident title prediction after Arsenal’s defeat to Man City
MORE: Troy Deeney says SIX Arsenal players ‘didn’t turn up’ in Man City defeat
MORE: Wayne Rooney makes a shock claim for the Premier League title after Man City beat Arsenal
