Gary Neville has worked in Arsenal and believes that an “obsession” with a facet of his game has unfortunately left them lacking the race for the title of the Premier League.
The Arsenal watched with horror how Liverpool beat Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday to go 11 clear points, just one day after the gunners submitted 1-0 at home by West Ham.
After two seasons of approaching so close, Neville feels that Arsenal has mattered what should have been a crowned campaign for them, and does not qualify the injuries as an excuse.
He compared his apparent failure to capture the title of the 2015-16 season, when Leicester escaped and the expected contestants came out with a groan.
Of course, Arsenal still has a game in the hand in Liverpool and 12 remaining games, including a clash in Anfield on May 10.
“Arsenal has become quite rigid, quite turgid to see sometimes,” said Manchester United's legend in the Podcast Gary Neville.
Arsenal has become so “obsessed” with the pieces of placement, says Gary Neville, which are “rigid”
The gunners only achieved two shots on the goal while sliding to a 1-0 defeat by West Ham
Neville says that this season is a “problem” for Arsenal because they should have challenged more
'This obsession with the pieces that exceed the entire game, exacerbated by the presence of the piece of the piece (Nicolas Jover) in the touch line and focuses more on the pieces.
'And it's like, no, I think freedom has left a little of them.
And I know they have lost (Bukayo) Saka, (Gabriel) Jesus and (Kai) Hvertz, which are great blows and that is a big problem for arsenal, but I still feel that they have to do the work against the west ham at home.
'It is a defense, but then you must plan it. I know they didn't want to do business in the January transfer window; They thought there was not the value in the market or could not get the player who would enter and impact.
'But they have left brief, there is no doubt about that, and they have fallen short. Even without players that you have mentioned, they still have to do that job.
'The last two seasons have gone very close and I had a lot of admiration, I felt that you have gone very close.
'This season is more a problem than the last two, because when the city was not going to be there, the team that had to be there was Arsenal in my mind, due to its growth and how close they were putting on.
'It will not be them, it does not seem, and that is the big surprise and surprise, and I think that will be the one that will affect the most in the boardroom, and (with) Mikel Arteta, and the costumes and the player, because they are desperate to win a title there and felt that they were moving forward. It's a blow.
They have allowed Liverpool to build a 11 -point gap in the race for the title of the Premier League
Liverpool has drawn four of his last eight games, but beat Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday
Neville has previously criticized the interference of the coach of the arsenal piece, Nicolas Jover,
Mikel Arteta has had to deal with an injury crisis, but Arsenal could have brought players in January
'Yesterday (Saturday), look, it can happen, and they could say that Liverpool is fine, but Liverpool has fallen points in these last eight games, Liverpool has attracted two in the last three, they have attracted four in their last eight (before that the Man City win): Arsenal has had the opportunity to approach. They could have gone within five points.
'It's a really big blow. The questions will begin to ask because, a little like that Leicester season, when a couple of teams did not win it, you start asking those teams, saying: “Wait a minute, Leicester went and won.” It's that kind of season where it is at stake.
It cannot be denied that Arsenal has received a difficult hand when it comes to injuries.
At present, they are without their four key attackers in Saka, Jesús, Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli, while the Ethan Nwaneri support option is also out.
They have also spent a considerable piece of the campaign without other important names such as Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori.
Such is its difficult situation that Arteta has been forced to play midfield Mikel Merino in advance in her last two games.
It seemed to be worth it against Leicester on February 15 when the Spanish took two late goals out of nowhere to seal a 2-0 victory.
But they could not finish their dinner against a west ham off, hitting the target twice from 20 shots, and succumbed to Jarrod Bowen's goal.
The Gunners have scored 10 goals from the pieces of the season this season, the fourth best total, but they exceeded the table in that last metric campaign with 20.
Neville has previously criticized the strong influence of coach of the piece Nicolas Jover, calling him “the most annoying man in football.”