Gary Neville has suggested Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta stormed out of his post-match interview with Sky Sports because he is sick of being asked about his side’s lack of a striker. Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Manchester United on Sunday afternoon as the Gunners’ Premier League title hopes all but faded away.
Arteta named Mikel Merino up front for the clash at Old Trafford, with Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard also starting in attack. But the trio came up short in front of goal, with Declan Rice bagging Arsenal’s only goal of the game. Arteta was asked about his striker options by reporter Patrick Davison after the match, with the Spaniard appearing frustrated. And he then left the interview after refusing to answer a question about the title race.
“Why was he so agitated when Patrick asked him that question about the striker?” Neville mused on Sky Sports. “Normally when you see a manager act like that… he seemed to walk off.
“Usually if you see a manager walk off from an interview when he's been asked a question, you normally think there is something getting to them.
“Is he sick of being asked that question? Does he think that's too simple an answer that he doesn't have a striker?
Neville then added: “The fact of the matter is it will still continue to be asked. The reason is because there are hundreds of thousands of Arsenal fans who for many months and years now have said, 'We need a striker.’
“It's not just us in the studio or Patrick Davison, who was asking the question - it's the Arsenal fans.
“You can't kid football fans, they know the team as well as anybody. They need a top-class striker in that changing room.”
Arsenal left themselves without an out-and-out striker last summer after sanctioning the departures of Eddie Nketiah and Mika Biereth. The north London giants have also allowed the likes of Folarin Balogun, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave in recent years without bringing in like-for-like replacements.
Kai Havertz led the line earlier in the season but suffered a season-ending injury during Arsenal’s winter training camp in Dubai in February. Gabriel Jesus was also ruled out for the rest of the season in January, with Merino being selected to fill in as a centre-forward in recent games.
And their paucity of options up front has derailed the Gunners’ Premier League title hopes, with Arteta’s side winning just four of their last nine top-flight matches.