Arsenal players look ‘bored’ amid club crisis, says Gary Neville ahead of Man City clash in Carabao Cup

Quarter-final against Pep Guardiola’s side offers Gunners a chance to escape league worries

(Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Gary Neville has hit out at Arsenal’s players for looking “bored” during the team’s terrible run that has them 15th in the Premier League, just four points off the relegation zone after 14 games.

The Gunners were beaten 2-1 by Everton last time out in the top flight, and they will have to shake off their poor league form if they are to defeat Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium tonight and progress to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

A key reason behind Arsenal’s struggles this season is their mentality, according to former Man United defender Neville, who told Sky Sports: “I think Mikel Arteta has to do one thing in the next few weeks: Results may not come, performances may not come, but he’s got to make those Arsenal players look like they are enjoying themselves.  

• Premier League table and all fixtures by date and kick-off time
• Arteta will get rid of players who aren’t prepared to fight for survival
• Arsenal must rediscover sense of fun if they are to lose their ‘fear’

“At the moment, they don’t look like they are enjoying themselves. On Saturday [versus Everton] they looked like a bunch of players struggling and toiling with how they’d been asked to play – maybe they didn’t believe in the system, or maybe they don’t believe the players next to them are good enough. Something is not right.

“Although I didn’t look like I enjoyed my football, because I was always really serious on the pitch, I did love playing in this Sir Alex Ferguson team. It was a thrill, we would go forward and were committed.

“Arteta has got to get those players buying into this again, the idea of going onto the pitch and having that enjoyment, love and thrill for football. [Arsene] Wenger’s teams always had that. This Arteta team looks more rigid, solid, but it’s a bit boring. 

“I used to say: At Old Trafford you can win, you can lose, but you can’t be bored coming to Old Trafford. I think Arsenal fans, and most football fans, are the same: They won’t accept being bored. To me, the Arsenal players look bored, and the football they’re producing looks like a real struggle.”

Neville said he does not believe that Arteta’s side will be relegated, although Arsenal have just four wins in the Premier League this season, alongside two draws and eight losses.

They have impressed in other competitions, however, the only team to emerge from the group stage of a European competition with a perfect record this term after strong showings in the Europa League.

And, of course, they have progressed as far as the quarter-finals in the Carabao Cup, where Man City – who have won the last three editions of the tournament – will present a stern test this evening.