Gary Neville has slammed the defending from Cristian Romero after Gabriel powered over the Tottenham Hotspur defender to put Arsenal ahead.
After a fiery and relentless first-half which saw the home side dominate the ball, Mikel Arteta’s side have finally found the breakthrough with their incredible ability to score from set pieces yet again guiding them through a tight contest.
With arguably their entire midfield missing the game with Martin Odegaard and Mikel Merino forced to watch from the stand with injuries while Declan Rice is serving his one-game suspension, Arsenal fans were not as confident in their side as they would’ve normally been coming into the fixture.
This showed in the early stages with the Gunners relying upon the heroics of goalkeeper David Raya to keep them from going behind.
But it was immediately obvious after coming out for the second half that Arteta’s side were more settled as they were able to maintain a period of possession.
The visitors then got their noses in front in typical fashion, with Brazilian centre-back Gabriel powering his header into the back of the net from a whipped-in corner.
Gary Neville not impressed with Cristian Romero
Speaking on the goal for Sky Sports, Neville highlighted Romero’s lack of awareness prior to the header with the Arsenal defender able to create some space inside the area with co-commentator Peter Drury describing it as “a monster leap on a monster day in North London”.
“The goalkeeper’s rooted,” Neville said.
“He heads it three yards out, he’s free, and Romero, the centre-back, is picking up Gabriel.
“It’s really poor from the Argentinian, but I’d want my goalkeeper to come for it. He gets blocked and then he ends up rooted.”
Considering their injuries coming into the contest, a win for Arsenal will be huge for their confidence with a face-off against Manchester City on the horizon.
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