Gary Neville predicts outcome of Premier League title race between Manchester City and Arsenal
Gary Neville has admitted that he was wrong to undermine Arsenal but has still backed Manchester City to win the Premier League title.
The Gunners beat Leeds United 4-1 a couple of hours after Manchester City beat Liverpool at the Etihad by an identical scoreline on Saturday (April 1). Neville has backed Manchester City to win the league throughout the season, expecting the Gunners to drop points in recent months.
However, he has conceded that the title race is now a 50-50 race due to Arsenal's recent consistency. The north London giants are on a seven-game winning streak in the Premier League.
The Manchester United legend said earlier today (April 2), via Daily Star:
"I still think City are going to do it because they’ve got that bit more experience. It’s 50/50. It wasn’t [50/50], my mind was certain that City were going to win the league six to eight weeks ago. I thought, by now, Arsenal would have dropped lots of points and wouldn’t be where they are now."
The Sky Sports pundit went on to add:
"But I think now it’s 50/50. I think City might just still do it. I’m not going to put everything on the Liverpool game. Our manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] used to say to us, ‘if you win at Anfield, you win the league’, if it [sic.] was this time of the year."
Manchester City comfortably passed the Liverpool test at the Etihad this weekend. It is now Arsenal's turn to take on an out-of-form Reds side, who are languishing in eighth place, on Sunday (April 9).
The Gunners have amassed 72 points from 29 games and lead second-placed Manchester City by eight points. The Cityzens, however, have a game in hand.
Former Manchester City striker thanks Arsenal fans for support following 4-1 win vs Leeds
Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus was sidelined for a big chunk of the season following a knee injury while playing for Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The former Manchester City striker made his return against Fulham in a 3-1 league win on March 12. Before the game against Leeds United, his last goal in the league came in his team's 3-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on October 1.
Jesus ended a six-month goal drought in the Premier League by scoring twice against Leeds. He said after the game (h/t Official club website):
"I just want to say thank you to them for supporting me until the end. It’s not easy when you’re seeing your striker not scoring goals but they always support me."
The Brazilian was substituted in the 60th minute despite being on a hat-trick, which left him 'disappointed'.