Gary Neville has once again backed Arsenal to win the Premier League.
The Manchester United legend tipped the Gunners for glory last year, only to see their title bid falter in the final weeks of the season, and he has backed Mikel Arteta to rally his troops and go all the way in 2024-25.
In laying out his season predictions on Monday Night Football, the Sky Sports pundit explained: “My reasoning last year was thinking that the treble might have an impact on City at certain points in the season; the demands, the expectations, maybe injuries - but [it was] unbelievable, to win the last nine games was just special.
“Arsenal had the most incredible season, they’re getting better, they’re getting nearer. I feel they’ll do it.
“Pep Guardiola wins all the time but I feel that Arsenal are getting so close and they’re so consistent that this could be their year.”
Neville stated that Arsenal’s only weakness would be potential injuries, which he said could equally affect Manchester City, as he predicted another two-horse race for the title.
Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher put City as his tip for the title as he spelled out his expectations for the Gunners for the year ahead.
“Arsenal are obviously one of the top teams in the country, but in the last couple of years when they’ve gone for the league, they’ve gone out of the domestic cups quite early,” Carragher said.
“This group of players should be attacking these competitions the way Man City do, and Liverpool did in the past. It’s not acceptable for a team this good not to win a trophy this season.”
Carragher named Liverpool and Tottenham as his picks to join Arsenal and City in the top four, while Neville explained a late change to his predictions as Manchester United were followed by Chelsea instead of Spurs.
The decision came during Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Leicester on Monday night, which Neville felt exposed a “vulnerable” factor to the north Londoners.
“I hope Tottenham finish fourth, I think they play great football,” he admitted. “What I would say is that when the subs came on tonight, I thought that could be a problem for them, in the sense of strength in depth.
“Ange [Postecoglou] talked about that before the game, referring back to last season. I think they look quite vulnerable.”