Hayters TV
·17 February 2025
Neville disagrees with Arteta: ‘I have very little sympathy for Arsenal’
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Yahoo sportsHayters TV
·17 February 2025
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville says he has “very little sympathy” for Arsenal amid their ongoing injury crisis in attack.
The Gunners are without Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli through injury at present.
Leandro Trossard started up front for the Gunners in their 2-0 win over Leicester, with midfielder Mikel Merino grabbing two goals off the bench after being thrown on as an emergency striker.
Arsenal tried to sign another attacking player in January but were ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts.
And while Arteta admitted he was disappointed immediately after the end of the transfer window, he recently suggested Arsenal were not short of strikers before the injuries happened.
Former Manchester United defender Neville disagrees, however.
“They’re going to have to come up with something,” he said about Arsenal’s current situation in attack.
“Look, I said before the game [between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United], I have got very little sympathy for Arsenal, they knew at the start of the season that they were short at centre-forward.
“They knew that they might be… you know, if [Kai] Havertz got injured and they knew were in a position where they didn’t have the quality up top so they’ve known about it.
“They’ve also had two title races so they know what it’s like. So, this is not like an inexperienced team anymore, this is not an inexperienced manager and it’s not an inexperienced situation for them to be in.
“So, I always say, ultimately, did you know that this could have happened before the start of the season? Yeah, could it have been foreseen? Yes, it could, we knew that Arsenal lack goals up top and a top centre-forward.
“I’m not saying they should go and desperately buy one but they knew in the January transfer window that there was an issue there, again, they couldn’t get any business done.”