Arsenal told SIX players failed to turn up in Man City defeat as Gary Neville names two big Gunners let-downs | OneFootball

Arsenal could be usurped as Premier League leaders on Wednesday after a hugely damaging defeat at Manchester City, and pundit Troy Deeney believes they only have themselves to blame, having named and shamed over half of the Gunners team that “didn’t turn up” at the Etihad Stadium.

A dramatic game was eventually sealed by Erling Haaland after the giant Norwegian slammed home a 65th-minute winner. And while Arsenal were somewhat unfortunate not to claim anything from the game, striking the woodwork twice, the defeat now means they have lost four of their last six games across all competitions.

Having crashed out of the FA Cup and been beaten in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, Arsenal now face a remarkable title surrender, and Pep Guardiola’s side can take over at the top of the table with a victory at Burnley on Wednesday.

Assessing the defeat for CBS Sports, Deeney feels six Arsenal starters did not play to the levels expected of them.

“We talk about how great Manchester City are, but you have to say Noni Madueke didn’t turn up, Martin Zubimendi didn’t turn up, Martin Odegaard didn’t turn up, Cristhian Mosquera didn’t turn up, Piero Hincapie didn’t turn up.

“And arguably, he’s a friend of mine, Declan Rice didn’t turn up.

“When Arsenal have this many players not turning up and putting in a level of performance that you would expect, you have to question it, you have to question where they were.”

At the same time as Deeney was picking out six below-par stars, Gary Neville also accused two Arsenal players of ‘hampering’ their efforts enormously.’

And he feels the absence of Jurrien Timber hurt the Gunners badly, explaining why Hincapie and Mosquera’s inability to aid the attack stunted the Gunners’ plans.

“Arsenal were hampered enormously by their full-backs,” he explained.

“I thought actually they did a good job, Hincapie and Mosquera, they really stuck to their task, 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 off.”

Title race not over – but Arsenal may have to pick Prem or UCL

Deeney, however, believes Arsenal’s race is not yet run and insists they can still recover from this.

“This has created a wonderful storyline, but also, I’ve been trying to keep it in and be respectful, but the Arsenal meltdown will be epic. The online meltdown will be epic.

“I think the difference now for Arsenal is that normally that Newcastle game would be a really difficult game.

“But everything that’s going on with Eddie Howe and Newcastle being all over the place at the moment, that’s become a lot easier.

“Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace: you would normally say job done, you know they’re going to win.

“But West Ham have a bit of form, and they’re fighting for their lives. Fulham and Marco Silva have had this weird season where they’ve not really done anything.”

Deeney also fears Arsenal may need to prioritise one of the Premier League or the Champions League, adding: “In the middle of this, there’s the Champions League semi-finals and you have to prioritise one of the two. I don’t think, with what we’re seeing at the moment, that Arsenal can keep running these players into the ground and keep doing it,’ the former Birmingham striker continued.

“Manchester City, on the other hand, all they have to worry about now is the Premier League. Obviously, there’s the FA Cup, but if they win this Premier League, with this squad…

“He could put James Trafford in, Tijjani Reijnders in, John Stones, Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Savinho, Phil Foden for the FA Cup, and that’s still an unbelievable team.

“But these Premier League games have all become a bit more difficult for City, and I still think there’s a bit of a twist in this between Arsenal and Manchester City.”

Such a display could put the future of Hincapie – on loan from Bayer Leverkusen for the season – in some doubt.

However, sources have revealed that Arteta is very impressed with the player’s overall performances, and the Gunners are ready to trigger a deal to make him their first summer signing