Gary Neville believes Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are now a ‘real problem’ who are ‘going to cost’ Arsenal during the 2023/24 Premier League title race.
The Gunners can return to the top of the table on Thursday night when they host West Ham United. Two points separate Arsenal from Liverpool atop the table ahead of the fixture after the Reds beat Burnley on Tuesday. But the Anfield natives have now played one more game.
Few players have been more influential than Saka at Emirates Stadium as Arsenal bid to win their first Premier League title since Arsene Wenger’s 2003/04 Invincibles. The 22-year-old’s work leads the way in north London for goals scored (5) and assists (7) over 17 appearances.
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal’s top scorer and lead playmaker so far this season
Only Eddie Nketiah has also scored as many goals as Saka after a hat-trick against Sheffield United in October. While Gunners captain Martin Odegaard sits second for assists with four over 15 games. Martinelli only has two goals and two assists from his 16 appearances so far.
Arsenal have even only seen Jesus hit the back of the net three times in the Premier League in 13 appearances. The 26-year-old has also laid on just one assist at Luton Town between stints on the sidelines with a knee injury in the summer and a hamstring injury in November.
Martinelli and Odegaard were Arsenal’s joint-top Premier League scorers last season with 15 goals each. They pipped Saka (14) and Jesus (11) as the only other players to record double-digits in north London. While Saka led the chart for assists with 11 to Leandro Trossard (10).
Gary Neville fears their frontline can ‘cost’ Arsenal the Premier League title
Yet it is not Jesus, Saka and Martinelli’s numbers in front of the net for Arsenal that concerns Neville. Instead, the Manchester United icon fears the possible consequences of their lack of on-field connection. Saka finding Trossard for three goals is their best partnership this term.
“At Arsenal is an emerging front three that could be great,” Neville told Sky Sports. “But they don’t combine a lot together. That’s a real problem.
“The best front threes involve their centre-forwards and the wide players. They play and bounce it off them. It is difficult for defenders to deal with them when front players link. Martinelli, Jesus and Saka, I don’t see them linking up a lot.”
Neville added: “When you look at these three, not just in terms of goals, they don’t combine a lot together in the game. That is going to cost them at some point.
“There have been a lot of times this season where that player [hasn’t been] stepping across the front post to tap it in or get a nick on it. They haven’t got that sniffer.”
Saka and Martinelli were the third-best partnership through the Premier League last season. The Arsenal academy product found the Brazil forward for five goals. They only trailed Kevin De Bruyne to Erling Haaland (8) and Bruno Fernandes with Marcus Rashford (6) as a pairing.
Yet Saka and Martinelli have only combined for one goal so far this season with Martinelli’s opener at Luton Town. Jesus is also yet to directly combine with Saka or Martinelli for a top-flight goal so far this term. Martinelli and Jesus connected for two goals through 2022/23.
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