Gary Neville hits out at ‘scruffy’ Arsenal star who was ‘the problem’ during 2-0 loss to Aston Villa… while Paul Merson claims the player should have started on the bench

Gary Neville and Paul Merson both took issue with one Arsenal star after their 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa – as the former said he was ‘the problem’ in the team. 

The Gunners were dealt a massive blow in the title race at the Emirates on Sunday as two late goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins consigned them to a fifth defeat of the season to hand Manchester City the initiative at the top of the table.

Manager Mikel Arteta made a handful of changes to his usual XI, opting to switch Kai Havertz from forward to central midfield, while Leandro Trossard came in to start on the left hand side with no space for Jorginho.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus was deployed as the main centre forward leading the line, but the tactical switch did not pay off as the Gunners drew a blank. 

Sky Sports pundit Neville singled out Jesus for criticism, calling him ‘scruffy’ with regards to his final ball and said he was ‘the problem’ as Arsenal struggled to break down a stubborn Villa side. 

Neville criticised his end product during the 2-0 defeat, while Paul Merson said he should have come off the bench instead

Merson also hit out at Mikel Arteta’s starting XI after deviating from a ‘winning team’

‘He’s been so scruffy in the final part of his game Gabriel Jesus, during the first half,’ Neville said on commentary while referencing a poor pass from the Brazilian.

‘He’s still shaking his head and wondering how he didn’t make that pass. He hustles and harasses but his imperfection is the problem at the moment,’ Neville continued.

Later on, Arsenal legend and fellow Sky pundit Merson also spoke about Jesus, claiming he would have been better as an option to bring on off the bench – questioning why Arteta didn’t stick with the same winning team.  

‘I said before the game I didn’t like Arteta’s decision with the team he picked,’ he said after the game. ‘Keep on playing the same team that wins every week, don’t have the wool pulled over your eyes for a 25-minute cameo against Bayern Munich.

‘Jesus comes on and does well and he moves Havertz. They’ve won nine of 10 with Jorginho and Havertz playing where they were. It was a bench today that if it wasn’t going right, he didn’t have anyone. Usually, you have Trossard and Jesus to come on.’