Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher left red-faced after Premier League title predictions backfire

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher didn’t predict Arsenal’s form this season (Image: Getty Images)

When talking about the teams most likely to challenge Manchester City back in May, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher didn’t give Arsenal much of a chance because of their failure the previous season.

At the conclusion of the previous season, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher dismissed Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League in 2023–2024.

With ten games remaining in the previous season, Arsenal led Manchester City by eight points, but they only prevailed in four of those games. As part of an unprecedented treble, City ultimately finished five points ahead of Mike Arteta’s team to win a fifth championship in six seasons.

The Gunners are back at the top of the table, where they were for 248 days of the previous season, after eight straight victories in which they scored 33 goals and allowed just four goals. Fast-forward a year. Ahead of a crucial match against Pep Guardiola’s team on March 31, they are one point ahead of City and ahead of Liverpool on goal differential.

Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and David Raya were three of Arsenal’s major summer additions, and the team has benefited as they look to win their first championship in 20 years. Even though there are still three contenders, Neville and Carragher did not anticipate Arsenal’s level of consistency this season when they talked about the teams most likely to challenge City back in May on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football program.

Neville stated after the Reds finished fifth, “Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool is the only team that’s really proven that they can run them really close and that I could trust, but I’m not sure about that because I think they dropped off way below what they did last time they had a bad season.”

“I hope that instead of feeling sorry for themselves, all the other teams are observing Manchester City and wondering, ‘How do we get to that level?’ They have coexisted with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool for three seasons; they are the only team that has demonstrated their ability to succeed.

“I don’t buy into this pessimism that says we should all pack up and head home; Arsenal played with them for 30 games this season, so let’s hope that can happen. The other teams, in my opinion, are spending enough money to have a chance, but City has the best manager.

Kai Havertz’s goal against Brentford sent Arsenal top of the Premier League on the weekend ( Image: Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

It’s interesting to note that Carragher went above and beyond by supporting United to get better enough to be considered for the championship. “I’m going to go with Manchester United and Liverpool,” he declared. I believe that Liverpool will make a comeback, and I also agree with Gary that it might be a bit too big of a leap to truly challenge Man City—just as it might still be too big for Manchester United.

I can see those two teams, though. Manchester United appears to be headed in a very solid direction. They should increase their goal total and acquire a few offensive players. I would say Liverpool and Manchester United because Liverpool will reinvest in midfield players and they have players who have won the biggest trophies in the past.”

After losing 11 of their 28 games, United is well behind the pack in sixth place, 17 points behind Arsenal and Liverpool. On the other hand, Arsenal has the best defensive record—they have only allowed 24 goals—and the best attacking record—they have scored 70 goals.