Gary Neville blamed Arsenal’s defensive wall for allowing Bruno Fernandes too big a target after the Manchester United skipper opened the scoring with a superb free-kick in Sunday’s Premier League clash.
United offered almost nothing during the opening period as an attacking threat but broke the deadlock just before the interval.
After Leandro Trossard had been booked for bringing down Alejandro Garnacho, Fernandes bent the ball over Arsenal’s wall and beyond a stranded David Raya to send the Stretford End into delerium.
Prior to the Portugal international striking the ball, Neville remarked that the wall looked too far away from the ball.
He said: ‘That wall looks a fair way back as well it’s giving him a chance it looks like it’s a mile away.’
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Neville’s observation proved to be a sage one as Raya was comprehensively beaten by stunning shot from Fernandes.
‘They sing Bruno because it’s been an absolute nothing of a performance in the first half but they will go in at joy at half time,’ said Neville.
‘Can we put a measure on that because that wall looks absolutely miles away.
‘Usually you think of a wall, a big wall like that it always looks really difficult to get it up and over like that there just seemed to be so much space.
‘It didn’t even go that high up into the net. He couldn’t get across Raya but you fancied him and he delivered.’
Replays at half-time showed the wall was the correct distance away from the ball but Neville suggested the likes of Declan Rice and William Saliba should have inched closer to create a bigger problem for Fernandes.
He said: ‘Maybe they were the correct distance away, usually they’re maybe eight yard away but it just felt like the Arsenal wall were being far too generous they weren’t even creeping forward.
‘It felt like Bruno Fernandes had plenty of space to hit it and he hit it.’