Gary Neville tells Jamie Carragher not to ‘disrespect’ a Liverpool legend during a fiery Sky debate.
Gary Neville gave Jamie Carragher a friendly reminder not to underestimate former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino before Arsenal’s big game against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Firmino was a key part of one of the Premier League’s best forward lines, teaming up with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane during his amazing time at Liverpool. He scored 111 goals in 362 games, helped the team win the Champions League in 2019, and lifted their first Premier League title in 2020. Firmino left Liverpool in 2023, moving first to Al-Ahli and now playing for Qatari club Al-Sadd.
Ahead of the Arsenal vs. Chelsea match, the trio of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, and Daniel Sturridge got into a lively chat about Arsenal’s options up front. They talked a lot about Kai Havertz, who has been Arsenal’s main striker this season, despite the club trying and failing to sign a big-name forward like Julian Alvarez in the summer. Neville said Havertz isn’t a “top-level” striker and thinks Bukayo Saka would score more if Arsenal had a better player leading the attack.
Neville said, “Arsenal’s style and the team you play with matter. If you had an amazing striker, Saka’s job would be easier.” Sturridge disagreed, and they went back and forth. Neville asked, “Don’t you think playing with better players makes it easier?” Sturridge replied that having a goal-scoring striker sometimes means wingers take fewer shots—there’s a balance between having a scoring striker and scoring wingers.
Carragher joined in, agreeing with Sturridge, while Neville said Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta would have it easier if he had players like Vinicius Junior on the left and Alvarez up front—two targets Arsenal tried to sign.
“There’s only so many goals you can score,” Carragher said.
Neville added, “If Saka played on the right with Alvarez and Vinicius Junior around, defenders would be so busy marking them that Saka would find more chances and freedom. Playing with better players helps you be better yourself. Havertz is good, but he doesn’t really scare defenders.”
Then the conversation turned to Firmino. Carragher said having Firmino in the team didn’t stop Salah from scoring loads. Neville jumped in quickly, telling Carragher not to “disrespect” Firmino, calling him “unbelievable” and “essential” as the link between Mane and Salah.
Carragher asked, “If Firmino was so key, why can’t Havertz be that?” Neville was clear: “Havertz is nowhere near Firmino level.”
Neville even called Carragher “disrespectful” for downplaying Firmino, though Carragher had previously praised Firmino a lot. Back in 2018, he said Firmino was “one of the Premier League’s most underrated players” and that he was “a top player” who played a key role beyond just scoring.
It was a lively debate that showed just how much Firmino is still respected by those who really know the game—even if opinions differ about today’s players!