Arsenal players Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil singled out for criticism by Gary Neville

Neville was unimpressed with Arsenal's performance in their 2-2 draw against Manchester City, claiming that Koscielny, Walcott and Ozil all showed a lack of effort

Neville has said that Koscielny should have played through the pain (Getty)

Gary Neville has singled out Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil for criticism after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Manchester City, a result which leaves the club seven points adrift of the top four.

The Gunners twice fell behind to City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, with Leroy Sane sprinting clear and giving City the lead after just five minutes.

Theo Walcott poked in an equaliser and, while parity lasted only 131 seconds as Sergio Aguero restored City's advantage, Shkodran Mustafi headed home eight minutes into the second half to pull the home side level.

However, a draw ultimately constitutes a poor result for Arsenal, who have now won only one of their last six Premier League matches.

And Neville thinks that the club’s players are just as much to blame as the embattled Arsene Wenger.


 Neville doesn't think Wenger is entirely to blame 
 (Getty)

“Koscielny always goes off. He's a centre-back. He plays to half-time and then goes off,” Neville observed of Koscielny on Super Sunday. The defender was replaced at half-time by Gabriel Paulista because of an Achilles injury.

“He might have a bit of a problem with his Achilles and I might be being very harsh, but he went off against Bayern Munich and went off in a big game today,” he added.

Walcott and Ozil were also criticised, with the former Manchester United defender questioning their mentality during the draw.

Walcott and Ozil were also criticised (Getty)

“Walcott trudges off the pitch,” Neville said. “He hasn't played well, but his attitude is, 'I've scored a goal, you shouldn't take me off.' Yes you should, you were poor and that's a matter of fact.

“Mesut Ozil goes through on goal and bottles out of a challenge when his manager's backside is on the line. Go for a 50-50 or nick in front and win a penalty.

“There's three instances today and I'm being harsh, but if you're talking about throwing the cat among the pigeons, let's do it. Let's throw it out there.”