Mikel Arteta may have breathed a huge sigh of relief today, but the pundits are certainly not leaving him alone.
Arsenal secured a vital three points to return to the top of the Premier League with a dramatic 1-0 win against Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Eberechi Eze was the early hero, scoring a beautiful shot from the edge of the box following a deft short corner routine.
But while fans were busy celebrating a return to winning ways, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was busy analyzing the obvious problems in the middle of the park.
Gary Neville dissatisfied with Zvimendi’s performance
He pointed out the poor performance of midfielder Martin Zvimendi, who joined in the summer transfer window.
“At the beginning of the season, I thought Zvimendi was a great signing.” Neville spoke on the Gary Neville Podcast after the game.
“He was a good player for Arsenal, but I expected Zvimendi to be that player at the moment.
“Who will be the player who will make the difference?” I thought (Victor) Gokeres would score in a crucial moment to make it 2-0. His lack of quality in the final stages was poor on that counter-attack. He has to do more than that.
“But if you think about what[Andrea]Pirlo is, or[Paul]Scholes, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, a player who can direct the play in games like this, get Arsenal the ball, organize the team with authority and make acquisitions, he hasn’t demonstrated that. He’s struggled in games, but he’s been working hard in recent weeks.”
Neville’s assessment of Arsenal’s star is spot on
Neville really hit the nail on the head. When Arsenal paid £60m for the Spanish maestro, it was expected that he would be the ultimate anchor, dictating the tempo in a chaotic and high-pressure title race.
| competition | Appearance | the goal | assist |
| premier league | 34 | 5 | 1 |
| UEFA Champions League | 10 | 0 | 2 |
| FA Cup | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| EFL Cup (League Cup) | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| total | 50 | 6 | 3 |
Instead, he has looked completely off the pace in recent weeks, lacking the authoritative spark that Arsenal crave when the going gets tough.
Picking up the three points against a stubbornly physical side was exactly what Arsenal needed to stop the rot, but the performance raised as many questions as it answered.
If the Gunners are to thwart Josep Guardiola’s relentless Manchester City machine and ultimately conquer Europe, they need big-money signings to step up and lead from the front.
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