Gary Neville has delivered a warning to Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal players, instructing them to seize the moment against Manchester City on Sunday and showcase they are the team that can beat Pep Guardiola’s title-winning machine.
Arsenal have fallen agonisingly short of usurping City for the Premier League title in the past two seasons, despite beating the champions 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium last season, before going on to draw 0-0 at the Etihad – a result which Neville insists was ‘not enough’.
Some have questioned whether Arsenal can win the Premier League this season, with Neville’s Sky Sport’s co-host Jamie Carragher backing Man City to pick up their fifth consecutive title during a recent episode of Monday Night Football. Neville though had insisted that this could be the season Arteta’s side break their dominance.
Writing in a column in a newsletter for The Overlap, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville insisted the Gunners need to produce a ‘statement win’ in Sunday’s match in order to showcase they are the team to usurp City this season.
‘If this superb Arsenal team doesn’t win the Premier League or the Champions League then they can forget about going down in history,’ the former defender wrote.
Gary Neville has urged Arsenal to win the Premier League or else they will be ‘forgotten in history’
Mikel Arteta’s side have fallen ahgonisingly short of usurping City for the Premier League title in the past two seasons
The Gunners face a huge showdown against their title rivals Manchester City this weekend
‘That’s harsh but the reality of elite sport. No one will fondly recall the magnificence of William Saliba and Gabriel at the back, the brilliance of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, David Raya’s extraordinary saves or the incision of Bukayo Saka up front. There will be no Netflix documentaries. They will never be feted or admired. They will be dismissed as nearly men.’
He added: ‘History is unforgiving of those who fall just short. And that’s why, for all the excellent work they’ve done in the past two years, there is still a step to take. We’re too early in the season to describe Sunday’s clash with Manchester City at the Etihad as a title decider.
‘Yet Arsenal need a statement win because they need to damage Manchester City and to demonstrate to themselves that they are the team of the moment.’
The Gunners can also overtake Guardiola’s Cityzens and go top of the Premier League with a victory on Sunday at the Etihad and will no doubt be eager to get a result after they were unable to secure victory against Atalanta on Thursday evening in the Champions League.
Despite that, Arsenal are unbeaten in all competitions at the beginning of the 2024-25 season, having only dropped points to Brighton in their opening four league matches.
On Sunday, they are likely to be without a couple of players, including captain Odegaard who has been ruled out for an uncertain period of time with an ankle ligament injury.
City are also ‘set to be without Kevin De Bruyne’ according to reports from The Mirror, which could ease the blow of Odegaard’s absence somewhat for Arteta.
But Neville urged Arsenal ‘to be brave’ lauding the quality of players the Gunners have in their side.
Neville said that ‘Arsenal must demonstrate they are the only side who can beat Man City’
Last weekend, Arsenal claimed a 1-0 victory against rivals Tottenham, thanks to a header from Gabriel (centre)
Arsenal have not been beaten so far this season, but were held to a 0-0 draw against Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday
Man City also were held to a goalless draw by Inter Milan on Wednesday night in the Champions League
‘They need a shift in mentality whereby holding their own isn’t sufficient. They’re so almost there. They are such a good team and Saliba and Gabriel are rapidly becoming one of the best Premier League partnerships ever, Neville stated.
‘I’ve been blown away by the quality of Arsenal’s defensive structure. Last weekend against Spurs, their overall display was poor by their high standards. But as a controlled performance, with key players missing, it was excellent.’
Neville added that Arsenal need to ‘demonstrate that they are the team to take out City to show they are capable of being dominant in this duel
‘They need to believe that this is their time, this is their moment.’
