By ROBERT SUMMERSCALES
Published: 14:04 EDT, 9 March 2025 | Updated: 14:11 EDT, 9 March 2025
Gary Neville was stunned by how far back Arsenal's defensive wall stood was before Bruno Fernandes fired Manchester United ahead in Sunday's game at Old Trafford.
The United captain opened the scoring just before half-time with a fairly flat effort from more than 25 yards.
Before the free-kick was taken, Neville said while commentating for Sky Sports 'The wall looks a fair way back. Looks like it's giving him a chance. It looks a mile back.'
After seeing the ball hit the net, Neville added: 'Can we put a measure on that? Because that wall looked absolutely miles away. Usually, you see the wall, particularly a big wall like that, it always looks really difficult to get it up and over.
'There just seemed to be so much space, so much space that he didn't even have to go that high up into the net. And he (Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya) couldn't get across. But you fancied him, and he delivered.'
Opposition players are supposed to stand 10 yards away from the ball when defending a free-kick.
Where the defenders stand is not up to the players themselves though. The approximate distance is measured out by the referee, usually by him counting his strides.
Arsenal's wall on Sunday, as marked out by referee Anthony Taylor, was later revealed to have been 11.2 yards away from the ball, according to Sky Sports.
Fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp was very impressed by the strike from Fernandes, but not by the positioning of Arsenal keeper Raya.
'It's a bit like Drogba and Ronaldo technique,' said Redknapp at half-time. 'You can have a look at the keeper's positioning.
'I think what you're trying to do is create a topspin. That gets the extra power. And that is moving so fast.
'And he's still… the goalkeeper is perhaps a yard away. Once that ball's gone past him, look, he's miles away from it still.'
Raya initially positioned himself well right of centre in his goal, with the wall tasked with protecting the left side.
Just before Fernandes shot, Raya took a big step to his left but he was still unable to get close to the ball as it flew past him.