Gary Neville insists Arsenal have a ‘bigger mentality’ than last season (Sky Sports)
Gary Neville believes Arsenal’s upcoming fixture against Manchester United at Old Trafford could be a banana skin in their Premier League title race against Manchester City.
Arsenal kept the pressure on City with a tense 3-2 derby-day victory over Tottenham thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
Later on Sunday, Pep Guardiola restored their advantage in the race as they romped to a comfortable 2-0 win away against Nottingham Forest.
While Mikel Arteta’s side remain one point clear at the top of the table, City have a game in hand meaning that the title is still in the defending champions’ hands.
Arsenal will hope to go unbeaten in their last three games – against Bournemouth, United and Everton – and rely on City dropping points, but Neville thinks the Gunners could be in for a difficult test at Old Trafford.
‘You never know what is going to happen at Old Trafford and Old Trafford can be a graveyard for teams,’ he said, speaking on the Gary Neville podcast.
‘Even with the way Manchester United are at the moment, you have to regard that as a massive match and a big game.
Bukayo Saka was on the scoresheet as Arsenal beat Tottenham (Picture: Getty)
‘Teams have won at Old Trafford this season that have been in the bottom half of the table, but teams in the top half of the table have gone there and struggled.
‘Liverpool famously in the last month or two have lost an FA Cup quarter-final there and they drew in the league and that was probably the start of Liverpool’s downfall in terms of dropping out of the title race
‘You can never underestimate a game at Old Trafford. If you look at a collection of matches it can be overwhelming, but [look at] the form they have been in and the defensive stability they have had.
‘I think they [Arsenal] will achieve a 100 per cent record, the one doubt I’ve got is that Old Trafford game and it’ll all depend on how City do in the next week or two as well.
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‘If City were to drop points for any reason I think Arsenal would grow. It’s a far better Arsenal team than last season, it’s a far bigger mentality, it’s a stronger mentality.
‘People will point towards [William] Saliba, and I can as well, but it’s more than that. There’s a focus and discipline and an attention to detail out there on the pitch out there in their defensive work, and six clean sheets on the bounce away from home is a hell of an achievement, in any season.
‘They maybe had a bit of a wobble, the Villa game and the Champions League, but that can happen, they’ve got back on the bike and they’re demonstrating they’ve moved forward as a club, they’ve moved forward as a coaching team and moved forward as a group of players and we’re in nowhere near the same position as last season.’
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