Gary Neville has advised Arsenal to focus solely on beating Southampton on Friday night as they look to hold off Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
Arsenal have dropped points in their last two matches after draws against Liverpool and West Ham, allowing City to move within four points of them in the table, and Pep Guardiola’s men have a game in hand.
The two teams are set to face each other in a huge clash next Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium, and the momentum appears to be swinging in City’s favour. However, Arsenal host Southampton before then and can extend their lead at the top to seven points with City in FA Cup action this weekend.
Neville has urged the Gunners not to look too far ahead, and to put all their efforts into beating the Saints at the Emirates Stadium.
‘It’s a wobble but you can recover from wobbles,’ he said on the Gary Neville Podcast as he assessed Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at West Ham.
Arsenal have dropped points in their last two games to let Man City to close the gap at the top
Gary Neville wants Arsenal to focus solely on winning their next game against Southampton
‘The main thing is they don’t fall off the bike – and that would mean dropping points against Southampton at home. So be solid, get seven points clear and the Man City game at the Etihad will be a once-in-a-lifetime game that will take care of itself.’
Mikel Arteta’s men have surrendered two-goal leads in successive matches, and Neville admits there were some concerning signs in the stalemate with West Ham on Sunday.
He believes they must now go back to basics and shut off from the outside world to return to winning ways in their next outing.
‘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. That was the only thing that bugged me a little bit if I was Arsenal,’ Neville said.
‘And I’ve said it before. I’ve been on those title run-ins when you have those young players and you just start to get a little bit sluggish, not moving as freely, not moving as quickly.
‘So, 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, everything perfectly, ice baths. Whatever they do these days, I’m a little bit detached from it but do everything perfectly.
‘You’ve had a great season and win on Friday night. And don’t think of anything else. I’m sure they’ll be good enough to beat Southampton on Friday night but that’s a really important match for them.’
Should they beat Southampton, Arsenal will then have a potential title-decider against City five days later.
Guardiola’s side have the clear edge in experience and are likely to approach the game with confidence having won four of the last five league titles, but Neville feels Arsenal should also embrace the occasion and take inspiration from their past heroes for the crunch match.
‘Sir Alex Ferguson used to always say: “If you had to win one game to win the league, would you take it?” And the answer was always yes!’ Neville added.
Arsenal face Man City next week and Neville wants Arteta’s men to embrace the occasion
‘Arsenal, win at the Etihad, they’ll win the league. He used to say that to us. If you were handed this opportunity at the start of the season, you have to win away at a ground to win the league, you’d snap someone’s hand off to have that opportunity every single year.
‘This is something to be 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 I’m sure he will, and his players have got to love this game.
‘Martinelli, Saka, Odegaard, Jesus, they can go and rip City to shreds a week on Wednesday. They can. They can go and score three at the Etihad. That’s what they’ve got to think. They’ve got to think they’re going to go and create history.
‘Think of Michael Thomas, think of Ljungberg at Old Trafford, think of all those times where their players and their predecessors have done it before. They’ve done it.’
