“They didn’t impact the rest of their teammates on the pitch” – Gary Neville blames 4 Arsenal stars for Gunners’ collapse in title race

Pundit Gary Neville has pointed to four of Arsenal's senior players as the culprits for the club's recent slump.

The Gunners' once-promising season now hangs in the balance. Their recent string of poor performances has seen Manchester City prepare to overtake them in the Premier League.

Arsenal had started the season with an unexpected charge towards Premier League glory, but their momentum has slowed down considerably in recent weeks. The first crack in their armor appeared when they let go of an early two-goal lead against Liverpool, ending a run of seven consecutive Premier League victories.

Their situation only worsened after successive draws against West Ham United and Southampton and a crushing 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.

Neville, speaking on The Overlap, attributed this downturn in form to the failure of Arsenal's four senior talents to provide leadership when it mattered most. He said (via Daily Mail):

"I look at Martin Odegaard, fantastic professional. Oleksandr Zinchenko, great professional. But when you actually get to the highest pressurised moments in the biggest matches in the crux of the season, are they leaders then?"

He added:

"Arsenal’s senior players, Partey, Zinchenko, Odegaard, in the most difficult period – when those younger players like Saka and Martinelli needed that guidance, Jesus needed telling to stop running around and just stand up front and be really disciplined in how you play – they didn’t impact the rest of their teammates on the pitch, I don’t believe."

Further slamming the likes of Granit Xhaka, Martine Odegaard and Oleksandr Zinchenko, Neville said:

"In fact, they contributed to the difficulties they were having in the matches. Xhaka at Anfield [referring to the incident with Trent Alexander-Arnold], Partey’s performances in the last few games, I think Zinchenko gave a goal away in one game as well – the Liverpool game and maybe West Ham as well – and Odegaard had probably his most difficult game as well against Manchester City."

He added:

"And then if you think of the huddle that Zinchenko did [against Southampton] and then Odegaard came over and said, “Break up”. So those four players that are the leaders in that team have not been able – at the moment those younger players needed it – to really pull them together and keep them calm and composed. That to me has been apparent these last few weeks."

Arsenal have a two-point lead over Manchester City atop the Premier League table, having played two more games.

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Mikel Arteta slams Arsenal side for lacklustre performance

Arsenal's 4-1 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday left manager Mikel Arteta questioning his team's competitive attitude.

In a post-match interview with BBC Sport, a disappointed Arteta admitted that the better team won, but also criticized his players for their lackluster performance. He said (via Daily Post):

“You have to accept that the better team won the game. The way we started, we didn’t do the basics right, we didn’t compete in the right way. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and be fair. When that team plays at that level it’s extremely difficult to stay up."

Arsenal will next host Chelsea on Tuesday, May 2.