Man United legend Gary Neville last January, when he predicted Manchester City as the English Premier League (EPL) winning team in the 2022-2023 season, the public’s reaction was cold.
‘Young Arsenal’ were on their best pace since 2004, when they last won the Premier League, and Manchester City were shaky and shaky. Fans pointed their fingers at him, saying, “Forcibly,” (criticism). He also said, “I don’t want Arsenal to win, so I’m throwing ashes.” On the other hand, Liverpool legend and Neville’s ‘enemies’, Jamie Carragher, took the safest ‘jeongbae’ of ‘winning Arsenal’.
Four months have passed. Neville’s predictions are becoming reality. Man City surprisingly ran a 10-game winning streak. Arsenal continued to miss games to catch up on. On the 15th, the joys and sorrows were divided. Manchester City, who played the game first, won a 3-0 win over Everton. Arsenal, under increased pressure, suffered a crushing defeat against Brighton with the same score.
Manchester City maintained the lead with 27 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses and 85 points (35 matches). The gap with second-place Arsenal (81 points, 36 games), which played one more game, widened to 4 points. The magic number is -1. As early as the 22nd, in a home game against Chelsea, it will be the 9th and 3rd consecutive victory in the club’s career.
Arsenal captain Martin Ödegaard expressed great disappointment after the game, saying, “It feels like the hope of winning the title has disappeared. The competition for the title has become virtually difficult.” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has apologized to fans.
More than ever, Neville’s words had more power. “Experienced players are always there, they are calm, they calm everything down and they get us through difficult times. That’s why I always doubted Arsenal,” Neville said on the ‘Gary Neville Podcast’.
Photo capture = Sky Sports
In the meantime, ‘Class of 92’ was cited as an example. ‘Class of 92’ refers to youth-oriented young players who opened the era of success for Manchester United, such as Neville, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Ryan Geese and Nicky Butt.
“I’ve been saying this for 25 years,” said Neville. “They did. Their backbone was solid. They were like unbreakable bricks. It was awesome. We were all around them.”
“Competing for titles is tough. You get a little bit of pressure because you get media exposure,” said Neville. “You will hear the word as heavy as a brick. It takes a lot of experience to do that. I always wondered if Arsenal had that experience. I wondered if young players could handle it when they were under pressure.”
He analyzed that the ‘spine’ was shaken. “Gabriel, (Thomas) Parti, (Granit) Zaka and others (recently) had the most difficult time. They lost their form,” he said.
Neville analyzed that the ‘inexperienced’ Arsenal had a big impact on the result against Brighton when they entered the match heartbroken by the results of Manchester City and Everton. “People say that Saliba was injured a lot. I’m sorry, but squads are made up of 20 or more players. It happens to Manchester City, Liverpool and all teams that compete for titles. If 5 or 6 are missing, you are unlucky. Gon can say,” he stressed that Saliba’s absence was nothing more than an excuse.메이저사이트
Meanwhile, Neville’s predictions aren’t likely to hold true. At the time, Neville said that Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, along with Man City, would get into the top four and qualify for the European Champions League, while Everton would stay. However, with Brighton’s victory on the day, Tottenham’s ranking fell to 7th. With two games left, the gap with Manchester United in fourth place widened to nine points, making it arithmetically impossible to enter the top four. The remaining goal is to finish 6th and grab a ticket to the Europa League. Everton stayed in 17th place with a loss on the day. They are only 1 point behind Leeds in 18th place, in the relegation zone.