Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes the Premier League title race could hinge on the outcome of Arsenal's trip to Anfield to face Liverpool next weekend.
Just over two hours after Manchester City moved to within five points of the top of the Premier League table on Saturday afternoon, Arsenal reclaimed their eight-point advantage at the summit with a comfortable 4-1 triumph at home to Leeds United. The Gunners have won their last seven league matches since losing 3-1 to City on February 15 and are showing no signs of slipping up.
However, in the event of City beating Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday evening, Arsenal will have to beat Liverpool to reclaim their eight-point lead next Sunday afternoon. Although the Merseysiders are experiencing a below-par campaign, they have already beaten both City and United at Anfield this season, highlighting the sheer size of the task awaiting Mikel Arteta's men.
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Furthermore, Arsenal have not won at Anfield in the Premier League since September 2012 and have been on the receiving end of several hammerings in recent visits. And for Neville, who is continuing to back City to retain their crown, he believes the outcome of the Gunners' clash with Jurgen Klopp's side could be pivotal in the whole race.
"I still think City are going to do it because I think that they'll have that little bit more experience," Neville told Sky Sports. "Look, I think it's 50:50, it wasn't that I was certain six or eight weeks ago that City were going to win win the league, I absolutely thought by now Arsenal would have dropped lots of points and they wouldn't be where they are, but now I think it's 50:50.
"I think City might still do it. I'm not going to put everything on the Liverpool game, our manager used to say to us, 'You win at Anfield, you win the league'.
"If it was at this time of year quite often that proved to be the case. If Arsenal go to Anfield and win, I would definitely say it would be their title, because the confidence from that would be unbelievable.
"Anfield is a terror of a place to go, but if they lose at Anfield it then becomes a title race. I'm saying they're going to lose it just because they lose at Anfield, but if they win at Anfield I think they will win it."
Neville previously insisted Arsenal 'won't win the title', with his latest comments hinting Mikel Arteta's men may have finally managed to change his mind.
When asked if Arsenal will win the Premier League, Neville previously said on his podcast: "No. But I said Leicester wouldn't win the league. They won't win the league. Manchester City will win the league, and I think Man Utd will finish second, and I know that will annoy Arsenal fans!"
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