Jamie Carragher could not resist poking fun at Gary Neville after Arsenal’s dramatic win over Bournemouth, bringing up his previous comments about Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The Gunners restored their five-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table after a remarkable victory on Saturday afternoon, coming from two goals down against the Cherries.
Goals from Thomas Partey and Ben White had levelled the scores before a stunning left-footed strike from substitute Reiss Nelson in the 97th minute secured all three points at the death.
Former Manchester United defender Neville has repeatedly played down Arsenal’s title hopes despite their superb form – and continuous displays of character – this season.
And he was yet again made to eat his words after Saturday’s match, with Arsenal fans – and, indeed, fellow pundit Carragher – bringing up his previous disparaging comments about Zinchenko earlier in the season.
‘The experience is still not there either off the pitch or on the pitch. I’ve watched Oleksandr Zinchenko, but he’s not a leader. I love him to bits… but he’s not a leader,’ said Neville back in August.
‘Is he going to, in the difficult moments of the season, be able to pull it all together? He might do.
‘I like the [transfer] window [Arsenal have had], I like everything you’ve done. Arsenal’s players that were there last season will have been burnt a bit by what happened in terms of falling away at the end [from the top four].
‘So, have they got enough experience when they hit that same situation again and they’re under pressure with 10 games to go, who is going to get them over the line on the pitch to ensure that they don’t do the same thing again?’
After the win over Bournemouth, Carragher shared a clip which edited Neville’s comments alongside clips of Zinchenko showing his leadership skills, giving passionate team talks both at Manchester City and Arsenal.
Neville replied to Carragher’s little barb by saying, ‘Oh he’s gone early!’ and then proceeded to retweet a clip of his own of the Liverpudlian slamming Lisandro Martinez’s lack of height.
Zinchenko, meanwhile, gave another excellent performance in Arsenal’s win over Bournemouth, rallying his team-mates on the pitch and celebrating wildly when the full-time whistle was blown.
The Ukrainian attempted 94 passes – the joint-most on the pitch – with 62 of those being played in the final third, while he won 11 of his 12 duels, created four chances and won possession three times in a dominant display.
