Gary Neville slams Arsenal duo who weren’t ‘anywhere near good enough’ vs Man United

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Arsenal earned three points on the opening day of the 2025/26 Premier League season, but not glamorously. 

Usually, walking away from Old Trafford with a win would trigger elation, but Arsenal were way off the mark.

Mikel Arteta will be desperate to see more from his Arsenal squad as the season progresses, as despite seeing the game through, the visitors left a lot to be desired. 

Bruno Fernandes noticed how little Arsenal created in the contest, with the only goal of the game coming from a Riccardo Calafiori header in the 13th minute. 

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Gary Neville unimpressed by Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli

One talking point from the game was how the two teams contrasted going forward.

Man United benefited from the pace and power of their new signings, while Arsenal’s new arrival was left isolated by his teammates around him.

Viktor Gyokeres failed to record a shot on his Premier League debut as Arteta’s attack struggled to ever get ticking, most prominently those in the wide areas.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game as a commentator, Gary Neville took aim at the Gunners’ starting wingers: Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli. 

“Arsenal had to change,” Neville said in reaction to the substitutions of Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz.

“The front three, especially the wide players, are not playing anywhere near good enough in this game.”

Neville made it clear that the starting front three wasn’t good enough, singling out Martinelli and Saka for being particularly poor.

Martinelli was poor in pre-season, making his low match performance unsurprising; however, for Saka, it was unfamiliar to see him completely ineffective. 

Saka and Martinelli were awful against Man United

The worst part of Neville’s assessment was that it was true.

In fact, it was undeniable, as when looking at the statistics of Arsenal’s two starting wingers, it’s clear to see why Gyokeres struggled to get in the game.

Martinelli was only on the ball 14 times during his hour-long cameo, while Saka completed only one dribble in 90 minutes.

In terms of getting the ball into encouraging areas, both wingers recorded just a single key pass.

Signing a new striker was a must for Arsenal, but soon, Arteta will see that without additional forward signings, Gyokeres won’t be enough.