Gary Neville highlights SIX Manchester United players he’s worried about despite 1-1 Arsenal draw

Gary Neville has admitted he worries about six Manchester United players despite the club’s spirited performance in a 1-1 Premier League draw against Arsenal.

Manchester United and Arsenal battled to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, with Bruno Fernandes’ stunning free-kick cancelled out by a long-range strike from Declan Rice.

Arsenal controlled possession early on but struggled to create clear openings. Despite the visitors’ dominance, United struck first just before the break, as Fernandes curled a superb free-kick past David Raya.

The second half began with an enforced change for United, as Ayden Heaven replaced the injured Leny Yoro. The hosts then had a golden opportunity to extend their lead, but Noussair Mazraoui was denied by a brilliant stop from Raya.

Joshua Zirkzee also tested the Arsenal goalkeeper moments later, only for Raya to come to the rescue once again. Arsenal then found their equaliser when Rice unleashed a powerful drive from distance, beating André Onana to bring the visitors level.

In response, Rúben Amorim introduced Rasmus Højlund and Toby Collyer in search of a late winner. United nearly snatched victory deep into stoppage time when Fernandes was presented with a golden chance, but Raya produced a superb double save to ensure both sides took a point.

Neville issues worries with six United players

In reaction to the result, former United captain Gary Neville broke down what worries him most about United. Speaking to Sky Sports, is explained that he is fearful of the lack of pace United possess in their midfield and front line.

The former defender explained that the lack of speed shown by Rasmus Højlund, Zirkzee, Garnacho, Eriksen, Fernandes, and Casemiro is alarming, while the club’s two wing-backs have failed to create sufficient chances for the front line.

“You talk about what we say in this studio, but he’s delivered the harshest line on this squad,” Neville started. “He said they’re the worst team in Manchester United’s history.

“And to hear that from your manager is unusual. In fact, it’s rare. Was he wrong to do that? No, because I think it generally could be. It’s a really poor squad and, obviously, it’s been expensively recruited over the last few years, but it needs ripping up.

“And the lack of pace… We just talked about that. The lack of pace in midfield and attack and in wing-back areas. I mean, you’ve seen up front today, you’ve got Zirkzee, Garnacho got a little bit of pace, and Eriksen. Last week, it was Højlund, Zirkzee, and Eriksen.

“You’ve got Casemiro and Fernandes in midfield who aren’t the quickest, and you’ve got two wing-backs who are full-backs who can’t, to be fair, create up top. So, are the attacking options going to score goals? Absolutely not. I mean, you talk about Højlund. He’s living off less than the scaps.”

United are suffering from tiredness problems

Within his claim, Neville has forgotten to factor in that many United players are having to play a crazy number of games with the Europa League and Premier League on the forefront of Amorim’s mind.

United have many first-team players out of action, with midfield and attacking options scarce, meaning many of those players Neville has mentioned have had to play twice a week.

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Zirkzee has played almost every single minute of United’s last six games, including 120 minutes against Fulham last weekend, with Garnacho playing through a slight knee injury and Fernandes having started and played through United’s last 15 games in a row.

Yes, the players look slow, but this is not so much down to their abilities as it is down to their lack of rest and proper recovery.

Once those such as Amad and Manuel Ugarte are back in action while the club also bring in attacking reinforcements in the upcoming window, this will hopefully do a lot to alleviate some of the pressure on the front line and midfielders, which will in turn increase their match sharpness.

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