Gary Neville has doubled down on his prediction that Arsenal will be crowned Premier League champions at the end of the season.
The Gunners currently sit third in the table after a mixed start to the campaign.
Victories over Aston Villa and Tottenham in addition to a credible draw away at Manchester City with 10-men provided reason for optimism that the north London outfit would end their over two-decade wait to lift English football’s biggest prize.
However, a four-game winless run coupled with dropping points in back-to-back games against Fulham and Everton has left them six points adrift of league leaders Liverpool having played one fixture more.
Despite this, Neville - who predicted back in August that Arsenal would go on to be champions - is sticking to his guns, stating his belief that Mikel Arteta’s side will improve in the new year.
"I’m going to go with Arsenal [to win the title] on the basis that I think they’ll hit their form," he said on the latest episode of The Overlap US’ It’s Called Soccer.
"They’ve got a decent run of fixtures over Christmas, I think they’ll get within a couple of points, a few points, and I think they will hit their form in the new year and I do think they will win the league this season.
"Top four… I’ve not got full faith in Tottenham, Aston Villa and, to be fair, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and all the other teams that are in and around it.
"I think it will be City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal at this moment in time.
“It’s the first time I haven’t said United will be in the top four, I think, in about 15 years!"
Arsenal are back in Premier League action on Saturday as they face Crystal Palace in a rematch of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final before ending the year at home to Ipswich Town.
