01 March 2023 , 14:52
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Gary Neville believes Arsenal's "desperate" celebrations after beating Aston Villa could cost them the Premier League title.
The Gunners are two points clear of Manchester City in second at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand. Their title credentials took a hit at the beginning of February, when they went three games without a win to let City return to the summit.
Yet Arsenal regained their mantle by beating Villa 4-2 on February 18. It was a dramatic victory, too, as two goals in added time snatched the points. Mikel Arteta's side were delighted with the win, but Neville thinks they may have celebrated too early.
Gary Neville believes Arsenal will fall short in the Premier League title race (The Overlap)"It’s too much emotion, too early for Arsenal," former Manchester United captain Neville told The Overlap in Focus, in partnership with Sky Bet. "To be that desperate and to celebrate that much with half the race still to go, it’s not a good thing.
"After the Aston Villa game, I can understand how big of a moment it was, but that level of celebration was quite desperate, quite early. There was a lot of celebrations at the end of the game. The emotions are something that’s a negative, it’s not a positive for me in a title race."
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Neville knows a thing or two about title races after picking up eight Premier League winners' medals during his time at Old Trafford. Yet this is not the first time the ex-defender has been dismissive of Arsenal's title charge under Arteta.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have both offered their opinions on the latest episode of The Overlap (The Overlap)Do you agree with Gary Neville? Let us know in the comments below!
Neville predicted Arsenal would finish behind United in the title race earlier this season and has doubled down on that view, despite the Gunners sitting eight points ahead of Erik ten Hag's side. He thinks Arsenal will struggle once "anxiety" kicks in.
The pundit added: "Arsenal have struggled in latter parts of seasons, with last season the most recent example of this. This is why Manchester City will win the Premier League, because when it gets to the last 10 games, Arsenal will start to panic a little bit, the anxiety will kick in, pressure builds."
Neville believes the Europa League could distract Arsenal. Arteta's side face Sporting Lisbon in the last 16, although United are also involved after beating Barcelona in the play-off round. The Carabao Cup winners take on Real Betis in their last-16 tie.
Furthermore, City are going strong in the Champions League and could go the distance. Yet Neville believes the fact Pep Guardiola's side have won four of the last five Premier League titles will give them the edge. He worries Arsenal's inexperience will cost them.
Neville continued: "If Arsenal do it and win the league it will be an unbelievable achievement, but they haven’t been around the block like Manchester City.
"When it gets to the final 10 games and it really kicks in – [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Erling] Haaland, [Ruben] Dias, [Ilkay] Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Kyle Walker – these guys who have been there before, they’ll push on. But there are teams who get over the line for the first time and this could be the year for Arsenal."