Arsenal wake up call as Gary Neville 'absolutely convinced' on Man City title race verdict

Gary Neville has claimed that Arsenal's scrappy 2-1 win over Wolves at the weekend should be a wake-up call for Mikel Arteta and the squad, while giving his verdict on the Gunners' race for the Premier League title

Gary Neville believes that Arsenal will still win the Premier League title this season, despite suffering a "wake up moment" against Wolves.

The table-topping Gunners played host to the rock-bottom Midlands outfit at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, walking away 2-1 winners in a match that was filled to the brim with drama. Sam Johnstone gave the hosts the lead by putting the ball into the back of his own net, before Tolu Arokodare levelled matters 90 minutes into the fold.

Yerson Mosquera then scored Wolves' second own-goal of the evening late into stoppage time to allow Arsenal to leave the stadium with all three points and retain their Premier League top spot. And despite Manchester City breathing down the north London club's neck in the standings, just two points shy at the time of writing thanks to a resurgent run of form, Neville still believes it's Arsenal's year to take the title.

Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, the former Manchester United star said: "What a run Aston Villa have been on, but Arsenal and Manchester City look like the two teams who will have a chance to win it - well, they have got a chance to win it. They shouldn't be panicking, Arsenal's camp.

"I think that they've come through a challenging set of fixtures, were a little bit scrappy - well, very scrappy - against Wolves on Saturday evening. I didn't think that was a game of glory for them.

"But they've got to get a balance right between thinking, 'The victory is the most important thing, we've got over the line,' but giving yourself a little bit of a slap around the face and saying, 'Look we can't have too many of those types of performances or we'll end up with a bloody nose.'

"I think it's a little bit of a wake up moment. We're coming into a period where there's a lot of points to play for.

"City have got [Erling] Haaland, they do have Pep [Guardiola] and they have a few more players who've got real quality and experience of being around the block. So they're probably smelling a little bit of blood and thinking, 'We're on your shoulder, we're coming and we're going to be there in March and we're going to be there in April, can you handle this?'

"If you're going to win your first Premier League title, it's not going to be handed to you on a plate. This has to be Arsenal's year, I'm absolutely convinced of that - there's nothing that is going to let me let them off the hook.

"They've got an incredible squad, they've got stability, I think they're a better team than Manchester City, they've proved that in the first few months of the season. But City are dangerous.

"They're dangerous because they've got that manager who is a prolific winner. They've got a striker who is absolutely world class; he's the player in the league that is absolutely standout, a dream. What a player.

"So they've got really dangerous characteristics and talent and potential to go and cause upset. But I still think it's Arsenal's.

"This moment was probably going to come. If Arsenal are sat there now, asking themselves the question: Did you think it was going to be a bed of roses? Did you think it was going to be plain sailing?

"Did you think you were going to just sail home to shore and Pep Guardiola and Manchester City weren't going to have a little bit of a punch at us? No. The reality is you're going to have that.

"And a season of the Premier League is a marathon, so that's that moment. It'll happen a bit more over the next few weeks.

"They might even lose the lead at one point, they might have to then go back. But Arsenal have got to get themselves mentally right for the next four or five months because it's a huge moment for the club. I still think they'll do it, but they've got to make sure they step up."

Up next for Arsenal is a trip to Hill Dickinson Stadium come Saturday, December 20 to face David Moyes' Everton, before an EFL Cup quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace two days before Christmas. They don't face City until April 2026, in what could prove to be a real six-pointer in the Premier League title race.