There was little to separate Manchester City and Arsenal in Sunday’s tense, competitive Premier League title clash at the Etihad.
City, in-form and with momentum in their favour, came out on top against an Arsenal side whose lead at the top has been cut to three points.
But the general consensus was that the Gunners performed relatively well, even if they came up short and raised wider questions about their title credentials.
Deeney slams Arsenal players
Troy Deeney did not think Arsenal deserved any credit for their performance, instead criticising several players for their displays.
"We talk about how great Manchester City are but you have to say Noni Madueke didn’t turn up, Martin Zubimendi didn’t turn up, Martin Odegaard didn’t turn up, Cristhian Mosquera didn’t turn up, Piero Hincapie didn’t turn up,” the former Watford striker told CBS Sports.
"And arguably, he’s a friend of mine, Declan Rice didn’t turn up. When Arsenal have this many players not turning up and putting in a level of performance in that you would expect, you have to question it, you have to question where they were."
Deeney stopped short of claiming Arsenal lacked “cojones”, and even suggested Mikel Arteta’s team still have a good chance of winning the Premier League.
"These Premier League games have all become a bit more difficult for City and I still think there’s a bit of a twist in this between Arsenal and Manchester City," he said.
On Arsenal's upcoming fixtures he added: "Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace : you would normally say job done, you know they’re going to win.
“But West Ham have a bit of form and they’re fighting for their lives. Fulham and Marco Silva have had this weird season where they’ve not really done anything."
City have some tough fixtures on paper, with trips to Everton and Bournemouth to come and a final day clash with Aston Villa at the Etihad.
But Arsenal’s league run-in could be complicated by their Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid.
If Arteta manages to get his side over the line in the Premier League, Deeney will no doubt be lauding the cojones of Declan Rice and co.
