Gary Neville left puzzled by ‘extremely strange’ Arsenal incident

Gary Neville struggled to come to terms with Oleksandr Zinchenko calling a huddle amongst his Arsenal team-mates after the Gunners went 2-0 down inside just 15 minutes against Southampton in jaw-dropping fashion. With title rivals Manchester City in FA Cup semi-final action this weekend, Mikel Arteta’s side were presented with the perfect chance to extend their lead at the top of the table after dropping four points in their past two matches.

But the Gunners were certainly determined to make hard work of this seemingly routine clash with the Saints, who remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Aaron Ramsdale gifted Southampton the opener inside 20 seconds when Carlos Alcaraz finished brilliantly following a calamitous pass from the Arsenal goalkeeper.

Then just 13 minutes later, former Emirates favourite Walcott slotted home a second following great work from Alcaraz to stun the home crowd.

Zinchenko, who was caught out of position for the goal, then called a huddle with his team-mates to reassemble Arsenal’s shaky backline – something Neville struggled to wrap his head around.

“Well shock, absolute shock around this stadium,” Neville said during co-commentary on Sky Sports.

“Here it is, I think he’s calling a huddle.

“I have to say I think he would have been better off getting around his centre-back than calling a huddle.

“This is extremely strange, extremely strange. Martin Odegaard is having a word with him saying ‘what’s going on’ but it’s all a bit off.

“If you want signs of nerves, signs of tension, signs of a wobble you’re seeing it right before your very eyes.”

Arsenal responded well however, pulling a goal back from Gabriel Martinelli who slammed home following Bukayo Saka’s cut-back.

Yet despite their immediate response, the shaky start to the match will once again pose serious doubts about Arsenal’s title credentials as City continue to hunt them down.

At the start of the season, Neville questioned whether Zinchenko was a leader on the pitch following his move to north London from Manchester City.

Yet the Ukrainian has continued to prove Neville wrong by leading the Gunners on the field with a series of inspirational performances.

He was right at the heart of their stunning comeback against Bournemouth in early March and he attempted to rally the fightback once again on Friday night at the Emirates.

Neville doubled down on his claim back in February when he once again questioned Zinchenko’s leadership credentials.

He said on The Overlap: “I saw him against Everton [after being frustrated by Neil Maupay] on Saturday, he’s not a leader! He’s a great professional, he’s not a leader.”

Before turning to Gunners fan Josh Denzel and adding: “Do you think he’s a leader?”