Gary Neville noticed in the second half against Manchester City, Arsenal’s midfield trio of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, and Martin Odegaard just stopped pressing.
Arsenal started the game at the Etihad Stadium with great intent and looked set to come away with a result.
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Martin Odegaard was crucial in pressing City’s midfield trio, whilst Rice and Martin Zubimendi covered any counterattacks from the hosts.
However, in the second 45 minutes, the Gunners’ midfield just seemed to run out of steam, and City’s pair of Rodri and Bernardo Silva came up trumps.
Declan Rice ran out of steam vs Man City
Gary Neville believes that Declan Rice and Arsenal’s midfield simply ran out of steam in the end against Man City.
In the end, Rice and Zubimendi were quite disappointing away at City and were just total passengers in the second 45 minutes.
Rodri and Silva are so good at just wearing teams down, and that is exactly what happened to the Gunners in the second half.
He told The Gary Neville Podcast: “Yeah, I mean, ordinarily, when you highlight sort of two Manchester City central midfield players in Rodri and Bernardo Silva, I’m just thinking, actually, in the second half, what Rice, Zubimendi and Odegaard didn’t do as much was press on to them.
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“If you remember, Arsenal were having quite a bit of joy in that sort of area over there in the first half, which was when they really pressed high on Rodri and Bernardo Silva and stopped them playing.
“In the second half, they started to get on top, obviously, Rodri and Bernardo Silva. Rice and Zubimendi couldn’t get up the pitch as much. That’s just a legs thing, I think, because City just wear you down.”
Declan Rice looks shattered for Arsenal
After the match, Rice insisted the title race is not done yet, but now he must step up and show it in the final five games of the season.
The 27-year-old has looked shattered over recent weeks, and he’s going to need to find something extra if he wants to win his first Premier League title.
Meanwhile, Odegaard had one of his better performances of the season for Arsenal, and he could be a key player in the final few matches.
But having only just returned from another injury, he does not have much time to make an impact and get back up to full fitness.
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