Sky Sports pundit Neville felt that Arsenal were ganging up on City forward Erling Haaland all game.
"I've never seen a team make it so difficult for Manchester City in the final third - there just didn't seem to be any spaces," he said post-match.
"You see De Bruyne getting his head up to get that ball into the box, there just didn't seem to be anywhere. I'm always cautious of being critical of Manchester City because even their level when not good is still a high level.
"They still keep a clean sheet, dominate possession, press and try to probe, to try and do the right things. To say they didn't get it right with the way in which Arsenal defended is unique."
He added: "They answered two big questions today. One, their mentality - could they live in a big game against Manchester City? Remember they folded last year here, all over the place, whereas today they looked like a team that could go through a title challenge with a lot more mental strength. That was a big question answered here because it is difficult to come here.
"The other one obviously is the defensive side of things. Last year without Saliba they were harmed and that has been proven today. To me today Saliba was immense, so was Gabriel (Magalhaes), and the work ethic of the two wide players and two forwards was incredible.
"They really ganged up on Haaland - it was a classic 'one go tight, the other drop off', old-fashioned tactic. But, they had a lot of players around them that enabled them to do that. They had the full-backs narrow and tight, the midfield compact with them, then the two forward players when was needed tucked in.
"If you're playing against world class players it often baffles me, don't be embarrassed and think you need to double up. You have to get someone else with you and that's what Jesus did. (Gabriel) Jesus got (Jakub) Kiwior out of a lot of trouble today. He was having a difficult game early on, Jesus right next to him and (Bukayo) Saka next to Ben White. They had a brilliant game."