Manchester United legend Gary Neville has had his say on the yellow card that Casemiro picked up against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, which means that he will now miss the game against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium because he has accumulated five yellow cards.
Losing the Brazilian is a huge blow for Manchester United because they have only lost one game that he has started in, which was against Aston Villa back in November, and you could argue that he has been the catalyst for the upturn in United’s form because of the defensive solidity that he offers his team, as well as his attacking play.
The former United captain admitted that Casemiro missing the clash against the league leaders is a ” massive blow” for Erik ten Hag’s side.
“Casemiro getting booked ahead of Sunday is a massive blow because he’s been pivotal for him,” Neville told Sky Sports [via Metro].
Many would have said that United should have taken not played Casemiro with such a big game coming up against Arsenal, however, Neville defended the United manager’s decision to start him against the Eagles because that game was also significant for Man United.
Neville said: “I thought Casemiro would play, I didn’t buy into this idea that he’d be rested because Crystal Palace are too good a team.
“It wasn’t a good challenge either to be fair, it could have been an orange, nearer to a red than a yellow, it happens though. Manchester United have got to pick it up now, it’s a massive game on Sunday against Arsenal.
“It’s just a bit of a blip for United but if you’d have offered four points before the derby you’d have taken it but to win that and be 1-0 up in the 90th minute it’s just disappointing” [Metro].
However, United did beat Arsenal earlier in the season with Casemiro so there is hope that United can beat the Gunners at the Emirates, which would shake things up at the top of the table.
Gary Neville is likely to be working on the game at the Emirates Stadium for Sky Sports, which kicks off at 4.30pm UK time on Sunday afternoon.