16 May 2023 , 06:41
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Gary Neville has doubled down on his criticism of Oleksandr Zinchenko because of the Arsenal star's behaviour during their Premier League title challenge.
The Ukrainian defender, 26, who Neville previously labelled "not a leader," has come under further scrutiny from the ex- Manchester United captain in the wake of Arsenal's crushing 3-0 defeat to Brighton. Sunday's loss leaves the Gunners four points adrift of rivals Manchester City, who can now win the title next weekend and boast a game in hand.
Zinchenko missed the defeat due to injury but hasn't escaped criticism from Neville, who says he's "filling in the blanks of what was going on behind the scenes" after watching what the Arsenal left-back did during the latter stages of the season which may worry Gunners fans. Speaking on Monday Night Football, the United legend admitted: "I look at little things that might be a little bit harsh.
"Zinchenko after the game against Bournemouth celebrating outside an hour after the game with the fans and screaming. You want your leaders in the team who have been there before to spread composure around the dressing room and to calm everybody down, you don't want them to lift the anxiety and lift the emotion."
The next morning, as Arsenal fans fired back at Neville's claims, he tweeted: "If he was tooting his horn 15 games out after beating Bournemouth, calling huddles 6 games out v the bottom of the league [after doing 2-0 down at home to Southampton ] I'm filling in the blanks of what was going on behind the scenes!!!
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"I've seen it before from emotional teams! The experience I'm talking from isn't just from winning titles! I lost 4/5 title races as well. Some emotions aren't positive ones for a group even if they look it!"
Have your say! Do you agree with Gary Neville? Join the debate in the comments section.
Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko has come in for criticism (Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Neville maintained throughout the run-in that Arsenal wouldn't have the experience to win a first league title in 19 years, adding as part of Monday's postmortem: '"At the elite level, you have to make sure you perform.
"The biggest moments in the most high-pressure environments, you have got to deliver in those moments. I always doubted whether this Arsenal team, looking at some of the things that were happening; the over-celebrations against Aston Villa," he noted.
Still, Neville had praise for Mikel Arteta 's side on the whole. "We never had them in the top four, our predictions are there for everyone to see," he acknowledged. "I think this is an exceptional season for Arsenal to finish second because I didn't have them anywhere near this and neither did anybody else.
"The problem for some people is ultimately it doesn't look like a good season because of where they've been. They'll find it difficult themselves to think this a good season because they'll think they should’ve won the league. Overall, I think it's been an outstanding season to do what they've done."