Gary Neville was adamant Arsenal would finish third – now he's seen enough to back them for the title
(Image credit: Sky Sports)
Gary Neville says Arsenal can win the league – despite being certain earlier on this season that the Gunners would be caught by Manchester City.
The Gunners are five points clear at the top of the table and garnered 50 points in the first 19 games of the season, putting them on course for a 100-point campaign. Despite this, Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United captain Neville previously predicted his former side United to leapfrog Arsenal into second, with Manchester City completing a third title on the bounce.
On Sky's The Overlap: Fan Debate, however, the former full-back backtracked on his previous comments – after watching Manchester City's limp defeat to Arsenal's rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, at the weekend.
Arsenal have led the table for much of the season – but it's only now that G-Nev is backing them to finish the job (Image credit: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
“We were at the City game on Sunday and the team came through I thought ‘hmm’, for the first time I thought Arsenal could win the league,” Neville said on The Overlap.
“That’s not looking smart after the events when City lost, I thought ‘He [Guardiola] is messing around, he is tinkering far too much’. I don’t know why [Kevin] De Bruyne isn’t playing, I don’t know why [Ilkay] Gundogan hasn’t played, I don’t know why [Ruben] Dias isn’t back in at centre-back with [Aymeric] Laporte to make them solid.
“I saw the team and from my point of view, my prediction was City would catch Arsenal. I was less sure on Sunday afternoon than I had ever been. I was pretty certain two weeks ago. I was actually certain on Saturday afternoon, I thought ‘Right City will do it proper tomorrow, this will be a champion's performance. He will go with his best team, he won’t mess around’.
“But if he carries on like that, carries on doing what he is doing... Sometimes great managers of that ilk, I know Sir Alex [Ferguson] had it a little bit as well, they just like to do things a little bit differently.”
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Gary Neville previously thought United would finish above Arsenal (Image credit: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
Neville has even acknowledged that his opinions have, in the past, angered Gooners. He faced a heavy backlash online when predicting the side to finish third.
"I said Leicester wouldn't win the league. [Arsenal] won't win the league," he previously reasoned. "Manchester City will win the league, and I think Man Utd will finish second, and I know that will annoy Arsenal fans!
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
