Gary Neville accused of ‘agenda’ against Arsenal’s David Raya by ex-Prem star
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville may have gone overboard with his criticism of David Raya during Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Not for the first time this week, the Spaniard looked shaky at the Emirates Stadium and almost gifted Pep Guardiola's side an embarrassing after Julian Alvarez blocked his clearance in the first half. The performance came soon after Raya was criticised for allowing Lens to pull level prior to Arsenal suffering a comeback defeat in the Champions League.
But former Wolves midfielder Karl Henry believes ex-United full-back Neville was overzealous in his critique of Raya's display. The 48-year-old didn't hold back in his assessment of Raya at the time, with the Gunner bailed out on more than one occasion during the opening 45 minutes against City.
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"I can spot a keeper a mile off that's a nervous wreck and there's one right in front of you," said Neville on Sky Sports commentary. "The mistake in midweek [against Lens], he's carried into this game. He's not sharp enough and he's very lucky."
But Henry took umbrage with those comments and spotted Neville wasn't celebrating Raya's positive contribution as he did for opposite number Ederson. The 40-year-old – who made 272 appearances for Wolves – even went so far as to suggest his former foe had an 'agenda' aiming to improve England international Aaron Ramsdale's chances of regaining his spot in Mikel Arteta's XI.
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Henry took to X – formerly Twitter – and questioned Neville's motivation for going in on Raya with such vigour: "Has Gary Neville got it in for Raya? Or is he just doing his best to get Ramsdale back in? When a commentator has an agenda, they influence millions of fans worldwide. It’s really poor.
"Ederson. Hits a diag and he’s saying Raya is rocky whilst Ederson is hitting 50 yard [diagonals]. Raya hit two better diags and he doesn’t say a thing. I’m no Arsenal fan and rate both Ramsdale and Raya highly, but Neville’s assassination of Raya is poor and unfair. Hope he realises how damaging to the player it can be and stops."
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Despite the slip-ups in the first period, Raya ended up keeping City's attack at bay to see out a clean-sheet victory. The result pulled Arsenal level with north London rivals Tottenham at the top of the Premier League heading into the international break.
Fans at the Emirates Stadium were seen calling for Raya to be pulled at half-time, but Arteta will be content knowing he made the right decision to keep faith in his summer signing. Former Brentford stopper Raya was brought in under surprise circumstances given Ramsdale's evolution in recent years, and a fierce fight for Arsenal's No. 1 jersey doesn't look likely to simmer anytime soon.
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