‘I’d still’: Gary Neville says £45m Arsenal player needs to start over 24-year-old in their next game

Gary Neville has suggested that Mikel Arteta has to start Gabriel Jesus over Eddie Nketiah in Arsenal’s next game.
Neville was speaking on his podcast live from the Emirates after an exhilarating 3-1 win for the Gunners over Manchester United.

Mikel Arteta had some big decisions to make when it came to his team selection.

He stuck with Kai Havertz in midfield after a few suspect performances and there are calls for him to lose his place in the side after the international break.

Arteta had to name a fourth different left-back in Oleksandr Zinchenko although reverting to a more familiar defence yesterday improved the side.

And after dropping him to the bench against Fulham, Eddie Nketiah once again led the line.

After receiving his first senior England call-up, the 24-year-old couldn’t find the back of the net against Man United.

Neville was singing Nketiah’s praises after the match but admitted it was time to start Gabriel Jesus.

The Brazilian scored one of the latest goals of the Premier League season so far that ultimately decided the tie.

The Sky Sports pundit believes its now time for the Brazilian to be brought into the team after a ‘dangerous’ cameo yesterday.

Neville backs Jesus over Nketiah
Talking about Arsenal’s centre-forward options, Neville said: “Look, I’d still put [Gabriel] Jesus in front of [Eddie] Nketiah, just purely because of his experience.

“I thought when he came on Jesus was dangerous. I think Eddie Nketiah when he came in for Jesus last season, I thought he did really, really well.Mikel Arteta has given Nketiah confidence, he’s given him belief because he’s selected him and kept him in the team in front of Jesus, so that’s really good from the Arsenal manager.

“But, Jesus probably is still the dominant force, but it’s good for Arsenal that they’ve got those two options, they need them.

“He’s sometimes everywhere where you don’t want him and he is everywhere Jesus. That’s the positive of him but it’s also potentially something that could be a negative.”

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The £45m forward has only just recovered from minor knee surgery and will be keen to kick start his campaign after the international break.

Neville admitted that he wanted Jesus to be more disciplined at the end of last season, something that Nketiah offers as he prefers to sit on the shoulder of the last man.

However, Jesus’s link-up play created lots of chances for his Arsenal teammates and provided a different dynamic to the side.

Arteta is in a very envious position right now with both strikers pushing to start.

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