Gary Neville thinks Arsenal will still edge Manchester City to the Premier League crown but warned Gunners fans they face “10 weeks of pain” en route to their first title in 22 years.
Mikel Arteta’s side restored their five-point lead at the top with a 2-1 win over Chelsea on Super Sunday after Man City had beaten Leeds a day earlier. Since a two-goal collapse at bottom side Wolves, Arsenal have navigated back-to-back London derbies to keep City at arm’s length, though Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand which could reduce the deficit to two points.
Neville praised Arsenal’s response to the Molineux setback and said their resilience would carry them through the final nine league games. “They have quality, physical strength and experience of the last three years of losing it,” he said. “They have to look back on the last three years. They know this is going to be hard work. They’ve got 10 more weeks of pain, these Arsenal fans watching in the crowd, watching at home sometimes when they’re away. This is not going to be pleasant, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be anxious but they’ve got to enjoy the thrill of it, that’s why they’re here.”
He urged the side to draw on recent near-misses against City and Liverpool. “They have got to try to get rid of that. In the last three years they’ve been up against City and Liverpool, and they’ve lost out in those battles. They’ve got to call upon the experiences they’ve had and dig in like you wouldn’t believe – and they’re doing that.”
Neville identified experience and leadership as key differences versus Guardiola’s “machine”. “Gabriel Jesus has won the Premier League but he doesn’t look like the kind of type who’s going to get the players over the line on his own. The one question you would have is who is the player in that dressing room settling everyone down, composing them. We had a lot of experienced winners, and it is hard work but I do think they’ll get there.”
He warned Arsenal’s congestion of fixtures is their biggest challenge, with the club still competing on multiple fronts and facing a potential 21 games in 87 days if they reach both the FA Cup and Champions League finals. Arteta has added depth this season with signings such as Piero Hincapie, Martin Zubimendi and Viktor Gyokeres, but Neville says rotation and injury management will be vital. “You can’t throw away a Champions League, you can’t throw away a Carabao Cup final, so how Mikel Arteta rotates, how he uses his squad, how he stays clear of injuries is going to [be] important,” he said.
Neville suggested Arsenal may need to prioritise competitions: “Arsenal have to in some ways take a calculated risk in the FA Cup. That’s not to disrespect it but you have to look at it and trust your second XI right up to the semi-final. The Carabao Cup final is a one-off game, you have to play your best team. The Champions League you have to play your best team, and obviously in the Premier League.” He added the FA Cup might be the tournament most likely to be sacrificed as the season progresses.
Arteta reflected on the nervous finale against Chelsea, saying his “heart almost stopped” after David Raya’s late, sensational save to push Alejandro Garnacho’s cross around the post. “The save that he made in the last action, from what ended up being an unbelievable shot, I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped. But David’s hand was there to bring it back to life,” Arteta said. He acknowledged Arsenal struggled for dominance at times, particularly against 10 men, and praised the team’s ability to navigate difficult patches. “You have to navigate through that, and it’s a big part of the game. Everybody’s suffering because the margins are so small.”
Jurrien Timber’s 66th-minute winner marked Arsenal’s 16th goal from a corner this season, equalling the Premier League single-season record held by Oldham and West Brom, with nine games still to go. Those set-piece goals helped secure a second important win in a week that saw Arsenal come from a half-time draw in the 4-1 north London derby victory over Spurs.
Arteta reminded his players of the comeback against Spurs: “I reminded the players that we were in exactly the same position against Tottenham seven days ago in that dressing room. They said: ‘Look what happened in the second half! So we’re going to do it again, but we’re going to have to go through some difficult patches to earn the right to win the game’. And we certainly did that.”