Gary Neville Provides A Plausible Explanation For De Gea’s Howler Against Arsenal
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten Premier League run at the helm of Manchester United came to an end on Sunday, as the Gunners kept their Emirates streak strong with a 2-0 victory.
Goals in either half did the trick for Arsenal, as Granit Xhaka opened the scoring, while in the second-half, the home side won a penalty which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang succeeded in scoring.
The windy, rainy night wasn’t one where either side dominated, with Arsenal being more composed in their play, while United kept improving, particularly in the second half, but lacked the killer edge to stage yet another comeback.
Xhaka’s opener will certainly feature in some montages, as it was a brilliant effort, swerving mid-flight to send De Gea the wrong way, much to the delight of the London crowd. However, Gary Neville feels there may be more than what meets the eye.
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Speaking about the De Gea’s poor showing to stop that attempt, Neville stated: “The first thing to say when you see a goal like that, is that you think there’s been a deflection. But there wasn’t one.
It was really poor from David De Gea. I’m not sure how to explain that. He hits it well, Xhaka. He’s got a clear sight of it David De Gea. It swerves but I’ve got no defence for him. It’s poor from the goalkeeper.”
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As to why the error may have occurred from the Spaniard, the former Manchester United player opines: “All the noise of the contract. He must have had a lot of noise in his ear.”
This is in reference to the fact that De Gea’s contract has reportedly been on the negotiation table for months now. At last count, it was being speculated that the Spanish goalkeeper wants to make a similar record-breaking amount that Alexis Sanchez presently pockets, a fee fitting for the best shot-stopper in the world.