Gary Neville believes Arsenal cracked under the pressure of the title race and found the run-in ‘too much’ to handle. The Gunners had been top of the table for virtually the entire campaign until they were leapfrogged by Manchester City a fortnight ago. At one point in mid-April, Arsenal held an eight-point lead and they had a trip to the Etihad on the horizon that many billed as a title-decider. However, should City win their remaining matches, they will win the title by a minimum of seven points.
Neville insists Arsenal have had a ‘great’ campaign but says the Gunners displayed recognisable signs that the title run-in was just ‘too much’ for them. He pointed to their 12 points dropped in seven games, with only nine points taken from a possible 21, as evidence of their struggles. Arsenal gave away two-goal leads against Liverpool and West Ham in April, while there were held to a 3-3 draw against Southampton at home. Their only wins in the last seven matches have come away at Newcastle and at home to Chelsea.
Neville said: ‘These are normal factors that need pricing into a title race. All the characteristics of it being too much have appeared. Loss of form, giving up leads, energy and legs going, making unforced errors not seen earlier in the season, young players becoming tense and losing their freedom of expression and others showing too much emotion when calmness is needed. I understand why we want to use less emotive language in 2023. However in a high performance environment and at elite level we must still recognise when pressure has taken its toll.’