Neville Lambasts Zubimendi After Arsenal's Narrow Newcastle Victory

Gary Neville has turned his critical eye on Martin Zubimendi after Arsenal's hard-fought 1-0 victory against Newcastle United at the Emirates on Saturday, expressing serious concerns about the midfielder's form during the crucial title run-in.

The Gunners clawed their way back above Manchester City in the Premier League standings with the win over the Magpies, bouncing back from consecutive defeats to Bournemouth and Manchester City that had handed Pep Guardiola's side renewed hope in the title race.

Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, the Manchester United legend acknowledged Zubimendi's summer arrival as a shrewd piece of business but felt the midfielder has failed to deliver when it matters most. "I thought at the start of the season that Zubimendi was a great signing. He's been a good player for Arsenal, but right now I was expecting that this would be where Zubimendi would be the player," Neville explained.

The pundit drew comparisons to midfield maestros of the modern game and recent history, questioning whether Zubimendi possesses the authority required to dictate play in tight contests. "You think of what Pirlo is, or Scholes or Rodri, Bernardo Silva – the player who can dictate play in a game like this, get Arsenal on the ball, organise and get them with authority and he's not demonstrating that. He's struggling in the games and he has done for a few weeks now," he said.

Neville also highlighted a tactical headache for Mikel Arteta, with Arsenal's midfield getting overrun by Newcastle's Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock. The issue, according to the former defender, stems from a congestion of bodies in deeper areas when Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard both drop deep alongside Zubimendi.

"Odegaard does it better. Odegaard went deeper today, but the problem is when Odegaard goes deeper, Rice then goes deeper and Zubimendi is already deep. Then you've got three players, or certainly two in deep areas. You can't have that," Neville explained, noting that Arsenal possessed just 45 per cent of the ball compared to Newcastle's 55 per cent.

The statistics painted a damning picture of how the match unfolded in midfield. "It felt to me today that Zubimendi, Rice and Odegaard got outplayed by that Newcastle midfield. They were far better than the Arsenal midfield," Neville concluded, suggesting Arteta has some serious tactical rethinking to do before the season reaches its climax.

Viktor Gyokeres also came under fire from Neville for his finishing, particularly on a counter-attack opportunity where the striker failed to add a second goal that would have put the contest beyond doubt.