Gary Neville gives Premier League title race verdict after Arsenal beat Man City

Gary Neville has said Manchester City’s early-season slump could have ‘woken’ the team up, following Sunday’s loss to Arsenal.

Gabriel Matinelli’s late strike was the only goal of the game at the Emirates, as Mikel Arteta grabbed a first managerial win over City in the league. It means Pep Guardiola’s side have now lost three games in a row, including two back-to-back defeats in the league for the first time since 2018.

Neville, who predicted Arsenal would win the title ahead of the season, feels City’s Champions League exploits from last term may just impact the team’s motivation this time around, but warned that three straight losses could act as an early warning.

“The reason I predicted them [Arsenal] to win the title is because they got close last year and I thought they’d be close again. I thought there would be a treble hangover for City,” the ex-Manchester United defender said during Sky Sports’ post-match analysis.

“What is City’s cause this year? You’ve achieved Utopia. You can’t do any more than that. When you’ve fought so long and so hard to win a Champions League like they have, and then you win the treble, there has got to be a little bit of a [sigh of relief].

“I think there will just be an element of these City players who will have a bit taken out of them from last season and what is their cause this season? They’ve taken a couple of punches on the chin in the last couple of weeks and might have been woken up early enough - don’t write Manchester City off, absolutely not.

“But something is happening,” he added. “[Defeats to] Newcastle, Wolves and now Arsenal, losing a game like this. Things that haven’t happened too much in the past are starting to happen in front of their eyes.”

The encounter at the Emirates was far from a classic, with just three shots on target in a tight and nervy match. But Neville was particularly impressed with Arsenal’s approach to the game and felt the Gunners found a way to win ugly, something they've been incapable of doing in the past.

“It looked like the game was drifting towards a 0-0, but that feels like a big moment,” he said. “It reminded me of a game from yesteryear where not a lot of the football was great, especially in the final third. Two teams who looked more concerned about defending than attacking and you don’t normally see that in the modern game. Both teams were very solid.

“Yet something happened for Arsenal and they’ve not been coming out on the right side of those in the last few years and I think that is a big moment for them. 

“There was a seriousness from Arsenal that I have asked for in these big matches. It’s not all about beautiful football, and there was very little beautiful football out there today. That was a big struggle for both teams.”

The result means Arsenal are second in the table, level on points with first-placed Tottenham Hotspur, while City are two points off the early pace-setters.