Gary Neville has revealed his primary concern with Arsenal in the Premier League title race. The Gunners are now only four points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the able – and the reigning champions have a game in hand too.
After West Ham held the north Londoners to a draw on Sunday, Arsenal have surrendered a two-goal lead twice in a week despite having never done so previously during Mikel Arteta's tenure. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Manchester United defender explained how the Gunners lost their foothold in the tie and why the manner of their recent misfortunes are a worry.
"What worried me a little bit was that Arsenal looked the leggy team in the last half an hour and West Ham were the team that had played on Thursday night and looked like the team with energy," said Neville. "That was the only thing that bugged me a little bit if I was Arsenal.
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"And I've said it before, I've been in those title run-ins when you have young players and you just start to get a little big sluggish, not moving as freely, not moving as quickly. So [they need] loads of recovery, loads of rest, get off your PlayStations, don't go out for a meal.
"Relax, watch films, sit in, do your preparation, have your massages, ice baths. Do everything perfectly and win on Friday night. I'm sure they'll be good enough to beat Southampton on Friday night, but that's a really important match for them."
If Arsenal manage to defeat relegation-threatened Southampton on Friday night then they'll head into the winner-takes-all clash against City with a comforting seven-point advantage. Neville, a former Red Devil, is desperate to see the reigning champions lose their crown and he's urged the Gunners to 'go and create history'.
"Sir Alex Ferguson always said 'if you had to win one game to win the league would you take it?' And the answer was always yes," he added. "[If] Arsenal win at the Etihad they'll win the league.
"If you were handed this opportunity at the start of the season, that you have to go and win away at a ground to win the league you'd snap someone's hand off to have that opportunity every single year. So this is something to feel excited about, this is not something to feel pressure about.
"City will love this game because they've been there before. Guardiola will love this game, but Arteta's got to love this game and his player's have got to love this game. Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard, Jesus can go and rip City to shreds a week on Wednesday.
"They can, they can go and score three at the Etihad and that's how they've got to think. They've got to think that they're going to go and create history. Think of Michael Thomas, t hink of Ljungberg at Old Trafford, think of all those times where their predecessors have done it before.
"As much as I think that City will win the league, and I've said it all along, I'm now giving advice to Arsenal about what a run-in is, what a run-in feels like and what you have to think like. It's tough, it's really tough and I do hope they go and do it because it'll be sensational for the league to see a team go from fifth [last season] to first. That's what we want the Premier League to be like."
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