Gary Neville thinks that Liverpool and Arsenal can’t just hope for other teams to beat Manchester City, they need to do it themselves. But he believes the Reds have a secret weapon in the title race: Jürgen Klopp.
Liverpool is set to face Pep Guardiola’s team at Anfield on March 10 in a crucial Premier League match. Only one point separates Klopp’s side from the current champions.
Man City managed to close the gap after its easy 3-1 victory over Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium, with Phil Foden scoring twice. Arsenal is trailing five points behind Liverpool and four behind City, but has a chance to catch up when it plays Sheffield United later today.
Neville believes that the upcoming matches between the top contenders will be key if Liverpool and Arsenal want to snatch the title from Manchester City. He reflected on his own experience chasing titles with Manchester United.
“I genuinely think that Liverpool and Arsenal have to think they are going to beat Manchester City,” he said, per the ECHO. “I think they have to think that way to create that monumental shift in belief that City have that they are going to win the league.”
He added: “I always think when we lost titles whether it was Chelsea with (Carlo) Ancelotti or (Sylvain) Wiltord scoring at Old Trafford or (Mark) Overmars scoring at Old Trafford, the team that went on to win it came to Old Trafford and won. They didn’t come to Old Trafford and get a point and played okay, they came and shocked us.”
He went on to say: “I think that is what Liverpool and Arsenal are going to have to do to take the belief away from this Pep Guardiola team, because they will be thinking that it is ominous at this moment in time.
“Liverpool have got momentum and energy — and the Klopp factor. Arsenal at this moment are the best performing team, defensively and they’ve now started to hit their stride in attack.
“City have got the most experience. All three have got something. This is where we’ll find out about all three of them. Can City do it again and get over the line? Can Arsenal do what they didn’t do last year? They completely fell away with ten games to go. This is that moment again.
“I always wanted to see Arsenal in the same position again, with City, to see how far they’ve developed. I think they have developed, with [William] Saliba and [Declan] Rice. They’re better than they were last year and have more power.
“I can’t wait for these next couple of games because we find out really what these teams are about. City are the barometer, that’s who they have to try and knock off the perch. That’s what you have to beat them — you can’t say ‘well City might drop points at that ground’ if you’re not beating them yourself. You have to beat them if you’re Liverpool and Arsenal.”
