Gary Neville doesn't believe that Manchester City will win the Premier League this season, picking a title rival to finish first instead.
Despite leading the league for the vast majority of last season, Neville was rightly adamant that Manchester City would eventually pip Arsenal to the title, remaining confident throughout the campaign that Pep Guardiola's side would top the table come the final day.
The former Manchester United captain has offered his verdict on the 2023/24 season now, selecting which team he thinks will finish first in the Premier League.
“I think that Arsenal can win the league this season," Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. "Despite starting slow, the football will come, the football that we saw from them last season.
"The fact that they’ve started a little bit slower, I never think is a bad thing, they’re sat there in the pack behind [the top]. My worry with Arsenal is a centre-forward, I like Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah but for me they are a number two and three, they need a number one.
"But I do think that when the football comes, and it could come after Christmas at March which is the right time, they could be the opposite of last season – a bit of a slow start and stronger finish.”
Currently third in the table, Arsenal are just a point off of Manchester City in first and behind Liverpool only on goal difference. Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are following closely, though, creating a competitive title race ahead of the busy festive schedule.
Neville's former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane isn't convinced by the challengers, however. Unimpressed with the quality of the Premier League, Keane believes that City are on to win an unprecedented fourth title in a row.
“The standard of the Premier League hasn’t been great the past couple of months, some of the goals were watching at weekends is so poor, a lack of quality," Keane said on the Stick to Football podcast.
"Manchester City are excellent, there’s no doubt about it, but the other teams need to sort themselves out. I still can’t see beyond Manchester City.”
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