Gary Neville took aim at David Raya for his poor kicking (Picture: Getty)
Gary Neville singled out Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya for criticism in Sunday’s clash against Premier League title rivals Manchester City.
Neville described a cagey first half as ‘strange’ after neither side were able to open the scoring before the break at the Etihad.
Raya produced a key save to deny Nathan Ake but largely struggled with his kicking – with a series of failed passes – and he was jeered by the home fans.
‘Raya’s kicking has been terrible,’ Neville told Sky Sports. ‘It’s not helping him that he keeps falling over as he kicks it.
‘It’s been a strange first half. Neither manager will be happy with their quality on the ball. Maybe they are waiting for the other to make a mistake.’
Former City goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel felt that Raya faced jeers and booing because supporters thought he was time-wasting.
‘You can hear the crowd is very unhappy with David Raya, they think he’s wasting time,’ Schmeichel told the BBC.
Gabriel Jesus missed a big chance in the first half (Picture: Getty)
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Meanwhile, Neville believes that Gabriel Jesus should have fired Arsenal ahead in the first half after wasting a glorious chance to break the deadlock.
The Brazilian forward cut inside after skipping past a number of challenges but took one touch too many before getting a shot away as City managed to block it.
‘I think Jesus should do better,’ Neville added. ‘He should at least get a shot off as he works his way across the box.’
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