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Gary Neville Accuses Arsenal Star Of Breaking ‘Rule’ In Dramatic Liverpool Draw

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2023

Gary Neville Accuses Arsenal Star Of Breaking 'Rule' In Dramatic Liverpool Draw

Former Manchester United defender and football pundit Gary Neville have criticized Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka for breaking one of the key “rules” at Anfield during Sunday’s match against Liverpool.

The Gunners had a commanding lead, scoring twice in the opening 28 minutes through Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus.

However, Liverpool appeared to be re-energized after a heated exchange between Xhaka and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The incident saw the Arsenal midfielder make a late challenge on the Liverpool right-back, who responded with a shove.

According to Neville, Xhaka’s actions broke one of the key “rules” of playing at Anfield, where the home team’s fans are known for their intense support and the stadium itself is renowned for its intimidating atmosphere.

The former United player suggested that Xhaka’s behavior may have played a role in Liverpool’s resurgence.

The Reds fought back in the second half, with Mohamed Salah scoring before Roberto Firmino’s late equalizer earned Liverpool a point.

The Gunners were lucky not to lose, with Salah missing a penalty and Aaron Ramsdale making a superb save in injury time.

The match was a tense affair, with both teams fighting hard for the win. Despite Arsenal’s strong start, Liverpool showed their resilience and fought back to earn a point, much to the delight of their fans.

While Xhaka’s actions may have contributed to Liverpool’s resurgence, it was ultimately a team effort that earned the Reds a hard-fought point.

The match was a reminder of the intense rivalry between the two teams and the passion that drives football fans around the world.

‘Arsenal played brilliantly in the first 40 minutes and then they just got the crowd up,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

‘I’m not pointing directly at the Xhaka incident where he got involved but there is a rule when you play here and it didn’t help.

‘There are some rules here: get through the first 25 minutes, play the ball forward and don’t let them press you early on, if the crowd are sleepy, leave it that way.

‘Don’t wind the crowd up or give a stupid free-kick away. Don’t get involved in a fight because they want the fire here.

‘One team needs fire and that’s Liverpool and one team needs ice and that’s Arsenal. Arsenal got involved in fire before half-time and obviously they conceded.’

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta felt his side had the game ‘under control’ until they conceded a ‘sloppy’ goal before half-time.

‘Wow – very intense game,’ Arteta said. ‘The game was under control but after that we concede a really sloppy goal and the game shifted momentum.

‘We started well in the first few minutes [of the second half] but then lost control. It became a very transitional game, very chaotic.

‘Liverpool could score three or four. It is true we could have scored two or three so maybe at the end the score is fair.

‘I haven’t seen anyone do it [dominate] in this ground this season. They beat every big team here, they played Real Madrid and could have been four up after 20 minutes.

‘They are going to have moments. You need to deal with them and we did. Our goalkeeper had a big part in that.

‘We could taken three points. We should do that [play like the first half] for another 15 minutes and then the game would have taken a very different trajectory. We didn’t. We have to take the point.’

Following their draw against Liverpool, Arsenal will take on relegation-battlers West Ham in their next Premier League fixture on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Liverpool will head to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Monday night. Both matches are sure to be intense affairs, with both Arsenal and Liverpool fighting for crucial points as the season enters its final stretch. Fans around the world will be eagerly anticipating the outcome of these matches.

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