Arsenal remain top of the Premier League despite dropping points against Sunderland this weekend, and Gary Neville shares his thoughts on potential title contenders
Gary Neville believes there are three strong contenders to win the Premier League title, with Arsenal the favorites. The Gunners currently lead the table with a four-point advantage over bottom challengers Manchester City.
Josep Guardiola’s side handed the Gunners a stern warning after defeating reigning champions Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad on Sunday. And the win has led Neville to believe City can be favorites for the rest of the season.
Speaking on Gary Neville’s podcast, the United icon said: “I thought today was about which of these two clubs would emerge as the closest challenger to Arsenal and whether they could send a message to the Gunners.”
“Manager Josep Guardiola, his 1000th game as manager, his team and his staff have achieved it. It’s a really good day for Guardiola and Man City, but a difficult day for Arne Slott and Liverpool.”
And although Liverpool currently sit in eighth place, already eight points off the pace, Neville believes Sunday’s defeat at the Etihad will not be fatal to the Reds’ hopes of retaining the trophy. Asked if Arne Slott’s side could still win the title, Neville replied: “Yes.
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“If it goes off, something can happen. There are firecrackers going off in that dressing room and there are world-class players.
“Van Dijk, Alisson and Salah are also big characters. They are great players in the Premier League, so if we can join forces with a manager who has had a great first season and get things going with the young players, we might still be able to do something.”
“But I was worried today because it was a really, really poor performance. They need to take a good look at themselves and they’ll know that we’re not quite there at the moment.”
Arsenal allowed their advantage to be stripped away over the weekend by missing out on a late win against Sunderland. But Neville believes the draw at the Stadium of Light was not as big of a setback as initially thought.
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“I didn’t think this was going to be a big blow for Arsenal,” he added. “I actually thought it was a game where we might be able to catch them up a little bit.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint. There are bumps in the road. If I were an Arsenal player, I wouldn’t be screaming and screaming because dropping points is normal in the Premier League.”
“It’s a bad feeling to concede late on, but after the international break they just got back to winning ways.”
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