Gary Neville says Manchester City will ‘smell blood’ as they prepare to meet title rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, as the Gunners are ‘wobbling like crazy’. Arsenal had shown little sign of feeling the pressure in the title race before they dropped points in three straight games against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton. Desperate to get their title challenge back on track, Arsenal could not have picked a worse next game as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Wednesday. Man City will close the gap at the top of the table to two points with a victory and would then still have two games in hand and a superior goal difference.
Neville feels Arsenal could benefit from being the underdogs in Manchester but fears they are finally crumbling in the title race. Speaking after the thrilling 3-3 draw with Southampton, Neville told Sky Sports: ‘It’s the one game in the run-in that Arsenal are not expected to win. So, can they condition their minds away from games where they are facing the bottom of the league in Southampton or West Ham, who are near the relegation zone. This is the one game they have left where everyone will think Man City are favourites. Does that take the pressure off the Arsenal players and free their minds? Because they have definitely got a little more tense in this last couple of games. There are things we are seeing that are not Arsenal-like from the rest of the season. They haven’t got that freedom of play and they aren’t creating chances like they have done in the past.
Manchester City have been sensational since the World Cup break and thumped Bayern Munich 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side, who are aiming to win the Premier League for the sixth time since 2018, face Championship outfit Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend before turning their attentions to Arsenal. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta worked as Guardiola’s assistant before moving to the Emirates and said he ‘cannot wait’ for Wednesday’s clash. ‘These are the games you want to play,’ he said. ‘When everything is at stake and you have to go there to win.’
Gary Neville says Manchester City will ‘smell blood’ as they prepare to meet title rivals Arsenal in the Premier League, as the Gunners are ‘wobbling like crazy’. Arsenal had shown little sign of feeling the pressure in the title race before they dropped points in three straight games against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton. Desperate to get their title challenge back on track, Arsenal could not have picked a worse next game as they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Wednesday. Man City will close the gap at the top of the table to two points with a victory and would then still have two games in hand and a superior goal difference.
Neville feels Arsenal could benefit from being the underdogs in Manchester but fears they are finally crumbling in the title race. Speaking after the thrilling 3-3 draw with Southampton, Neville told Sky Sports: ‘It’s the one game in the run-in that Arsenal are not expected to win. So, can they condition their minds away from games where they are facing the bottom of the league in Southampton or West Ham, who are near the relegation zone. This is the one game they have left where everyone will think Man City are favourites. Does that take the pressure off the Arsenal players and free their minds? Because they have definitely got a little more tense in this last couple of games. There are things we are seeing that are not Arsenal-like from the rest of the season. They haven’t got that freedom of play and they aren’t creating chances like they have done in the past.
Manchester City have been sensational since the World Cup break and thumped Bayern Munich 4-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Pep Guardiola’s side, who are aiming to win the Premier League for the sixth time since 2018, face Championship outfit Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend before turning their attentions to Arsenal. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta worked as Guardiola’s assistant before moving to the Emirates and said he ‘cannot wait’ for Wednesday’s clash. ‘These are the games you want to play,’ he said. ‘When everything is at stake and you have to go there to win.’
Neville believes that if Arsenal can free their minds from all of their recent struggles, then they can play with freedom and excitement against Manchester City on Wednesday. He added: ‘The worry is they are conceding goals and Manchester City are experienced and they smell blood. These are all the hallmarks here of