Bukayo Saka handed Arsenal the lead over Liverpool just nine minutes into Sunday’s clash with the Reds defence facing the fury of both fans and Gary Neville for their roles in the goal.
Gary Neville pointed the finger at Virgil van Dijk for Bukayo Saka’s opening goal in Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday, even though Reds fans slammed Andy Robertson.
Gunners defender Ben White sent a long ball forward from deep, with Liverpool trying to play a high line. But Robertson had dropped back with Saka and was beaten to the ball by the Arsenal captain.
Saka took a touch before cutting inside, with Robertson over-running himself and slipping over. The Scotland captain then looked up to see Saka fire the ball high into the net to hand Arsenal the lead.
Van Dijk was unable to get back to stop Saka from beating Robertson and scoring, with Neville blaming the Dutchman for the goal. He said in commentary on Sky Sports: “It is so, so good. There was a nutmeg and then the finish…emphatic. But I would have expected my left-sided centre-half (Van Dijk) to get there.
Not everyone agreed with Neville’s analysis though, with many Liverpool fans left fuming at Robertson. The Scot was branded ‘pathetic’ and ‘absolutely embarrassing’ after his failure to stop Saka.
One fan said: “Neville blaming the goal on VVD when Saka turned Robertson into a jelly probably explains why he failed as a manager.” Another added: “Pathetic from Robertson.”A third wrote: “It really is time to let Robertson go.” While another said: “So so bad by Robertson. There’s only one thing Saka wants to do.
Cut inside. He’s at a tight angle on his right foot, he’s not scoring from there. Just don’t let him cut inside.”Another fan added: “We really need to go big for a left-back because Robertson is becoming sad to watch.” A sixth claimed: “Really need a new LB in the summer, Robertson is so washed.
While another fan added: “That is absolutely embarrassing from Robertson.” Another concluded: “Robertson is a liability, Van dijk is walking in a garden.”Robertson was also blamed for his role by former Chelsea star Pat Nevin.
The pundit hailed Saka for his skill in scoring, but he also hit out at Robertson for letting the Arsenal star run on. He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Andy Robertson just lets Bukayo Saka go, but he still has a lot to do.
He breaks into the penalty area and the angle is against him, but he doesn’t care. He has rifled that into the near post, brilliant finish.
While Van Dijk was blamed for the goal by Neville, he had the perfect response nine minutes after Saka’s opener. The Liverpool skipper powered Luis Diaz’s corner past David Raya and into the net to equalise following a breathless opening 20 minutes
