Gary Neville has claimed Arsenal should retain the Premier League title 'by a street' after watching Manchester City and Liverpool struggle on the opening weekend of the 2026-27 season. The former Manchester United defender, speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, said neither City nor Liverpool currently resemble title-winning teams, with both clubs showing significant vulnerabilities in their first matches.
Arsenal's commanding start to title defence
The Gunners began their title defence with a routine 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday night. Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored first-half goals for Mikel Arteta's side before Martin Odegaard added a third after the break. The result put Arsenal top of the table and sent an early statement to their rivals.
Meanwhile, Manchester City and Liverpool, who could be two of Arsenal's biggest rivals for the title, were both in action on Sunday. Enzo Maresca's team came from behind to beat Bournemouth, while Andoni Iraola's side scored a last-minute equaliser at Newcastle United.
Man City's unconvincing win over Bournemouth
Maresca's first Premier League game in charge of Manchester City looked set to end in defeat as Bournemouth led for almost an hour following Marcus Tavernier's first-half opener. But Marc Guehi headed home a late equaliser before Josko Gvardiol scored an injury-time winner for Manchester City, who finished seven points behind Arsenal last season.
Neville said of the performance: 'They deserved to win the game if you look at some of the chances they missed. I thought they were really bright early on but the shock for me was the formation with Nico O'Reilly at left-back and Marc Guehi in midfield. It was a bit of a surprise and didn't look quite right. It was really important for Man City and Enzo Maresca to get that win because there's pressure on him there. They deserved to win but it wasn't plain-sailing, there's still a lot of questions there. We're measuring Man City and Liverpool by the standards they've previously set and they're nowhere near those standards.'
Liverpool's late point at Newcastle
Liverpool trailed twice at St James' Park but Dominik Szoboszlai's penalty with virtually the last kick of the game earned the Reds a point at a much-changed Newcastle. Neville cannot see Liverpool mounting a title challenge after their opening draw, and he highlighted concerns over the balance of the team and the form of key players.
'You can't say Liverpool didn't deserve a point out of the game because they created a lot of chances,' Neville said. 'I think Liverpool will be happy with the point and the way the game ended but deep down, when you're measuring yourself against the teams they've had recently that have won titles, I think they'll be thinking "we've got a lot of work to do". They're nowhere near a title-winning team I don't think.'
He added: 'If you're going to play those two full-backs, you better have two amazing centre-backs and two very good defensive midfielders who are going to stop counter-attacks. You need to compensate for that. Their midfielders aren't really holding players, quite often they empty the midfield by running forward, so I think that's a real problem for the balance for Liverpool. The other big thing for Liverpool is they've got Isak and Wirtz who are going to have to start playing soon. We've been kind on them two. They need to start delivering and they need to improve. There were some positives for Liverpool but there's a big question over Isak and Wirtz still, those two need to deliver.'
Neville's verdict: Arsenal to storm to back-to-back titles
As a result of these performances, Neville expects Arsenal to secure back-to-back Premier League titles. 'Last week when we were previewing the season all I kept thinking was this is going to be the most unpredictable season and it's going to be intriguing,' he said. 'We've got new managers, lots of new players and so much change at the top. Arsenal should win this league by a street. We've seen Tottenham get beaten, Man United lose, Liverpool nearly lose, Man City scrambling for a win at home… The unpredictable nature we thought we'd see at the top we have seen on this opening weekend. It's played out pretty much how I thought it would do.'
Arsenal's dominant start, coupled with the struggles of their main rivals, has strengthened the case for Neville's prediction. The Gunners will look to build on their opening victory when they face their next Premier League opponent, while City and Liverpool will need to address their early-season issues quickly if they are to close the gap on the champions.
