Gary Neville left unimpressed after watching two Arsenal players vs Chelsea yesterday

Add as preferred source on Google

Gary Neville was unimpressed with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as Arsenal rescued a late point at Chelsea yesterday.

Neville has been speaking on his podcast and reflected on last night’s 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal were way below their usual best on Saturday evening and needed two late goals to secure a point at Chelsea. The Gunners fell behind in the 15th minute after William Saliba was judged to have handled the ball in the area as Mykhaylo Mudryk’s header hit the defender’s arm. 

Cole Palmer made no mistake from the spot and Mikel Arteta’s men went two behind early in the second half after Mudryk caught David Raya off his line.

It’s fair to say that Arsenal will probably be happy with a point after they were second-best for large spells of last night’s London derby.

And Gary Neville believes Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes were particularly below par on the night.

Gary Neville unimpressed with William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes

Speaking on his podcast, Neville claimed that both Saliba and Gabriel looked unusually ‘shaky’ last night.

“From Arsenal’s perspective, they’ll be happy because they’ve got away with one,” he said. “They haven’t played well, they’ve been nowhere near their best.

“Their two centre-halves looked as shaky as I’ve seen them for a bit. But to still pull a point away from a game like that is really good for Arsenal.”

Saliba and Gabriel have formed a brilliant partnership in central defence over the past year. But the duo didn’t enjoy their best evening last night and while the penalty awarded against Arsenal was harsh, Saliba was at fault. 

Both defenders have been standout performers for the Gunners this season and it will be intriguing to see how they bounce back after a questionable performance.

Arsenal face a crucial run of fixtures over the next few weeks as they return to Champions League action on Tuesday before hosting Sheffield United. 

In our view, Saliba and Gabriel will be back to their best soon enough after a rare off-day at Chelsea on Saturday.