Arsenal “answered two big questions” against Man City, says EPL Legend

Former Manchester United defender, Gary Neville says Arsenal have answered questions about their mentality and their defensive resilience following their 0-0 draw against champions Manchester City in a keenly contested tie at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal restricted Pep Guardiola’s side to a solitary shot on target, becoming the first team to keep a clean sheet at the Etihad since 2021 and ending a 57-game City scoring run at home.

Speaking on Arsenal’s performance, Neville said on Sky Sports. “I think they answered two big questions today.”

“One is on their mentality. Could they live in a big game against Manchester City?

“That’s a big question answered, because it’s difficult to come here.

“The other one is on the defensive side of things. Last year, it was suggested that without Saliba they were harmed, and that’s been proven today.

“Saliba was immense, there’s no doubt about that. So was Gabriel.

“But for me, the work ethic of the two wide players and the two forwards was also incredible.”

“The two centre-halves were fantastic,” added Neville. “They headed everything away, they really did gang up on Haaland. It was a classic one go tight and one hold off, old-fashioned tactics.

“But they had a lot of players around them to enable them to do that. They had the full-backs narrow and tight, they had the midfield compact with them.

“The two wide players tucked in and did a really good job, and then they had the two forward players, [Kai] Havertz and [Martin] Odegaard, when it was needed as well.”