Manager Gary Neville believes Arsenal can still beat Manchester City to the Premier League crown, but warned Gunners fans they face “10 weeks of agony” on the road to their first title in 22 years.
Mikel Arteta’s side regained a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Chelsea on Super Sunday, after Man City beat Leeds 24 hours earlier.
Since a heavy two-goal defeat at the hands of bottom-placed Wolves, the Gunners have managed to survive back-to-back London derbies to keep City level, but Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand that could cut the gap at the top of the table to just two points.
Neville praised Arsenal’s response to the last-minute heartbreak at Molineux and said their resilience would get them over the line for the title in the final nine games of the season.
“They have the quality, the physical strength and the experience of missing that over the last three years,” he said. “They have to reflect on the last three years. They know it’s going to be a tough job. They have another 10 weeks of suffering ahead of them. Arsenal fans watch in the crowd and sometimes at home when they’re away.”
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Free to watch: Highlights of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea
“It’s not fun, it’s not easy. It’s going to be nerve-wracking, but they have to enjoy the thrill of it. That’s why they’re here.
“Every time we come to Arsenal, we’ve done the same thing for years: we sit across the middle of the stands and think back to 2004 and say they haven’t won the league for 22 years.
“They have to try to overcome that. Over the last three years they have played against City and Liverpool and lost those battles. They have to use their experience and put in an incredible effort. And they are doing that.”
“The only worry, other than injuries and the number of games, is that we will be playing against the machine of Josep Guardiola, who has won titles. Gabriel Jesus has won the Premier League, but he doesn’t seem like the type to push players over the line on his own.”
“The one question I have is who are the guys in the locker room that keep everyone calm and organized? It’s a tough job because we had a lot of experienced winners, but I believe they’ll get there.”
Neville pointed out that Arsenal’s biggest problem in the final three months of the season was due to the high number of games, given that the Gunners are still fighting on all fronts and could play 21 games in 87 days if they reach the finals of both the FA Cup and Champions League.
Arteta has strengthened his squad this season with the signings of Piero Hincapie, Martin Zvimendi and Victor Gökeres, but Neville still believes a key balance needs to be struck if the club are to end their 20-year wait for a league title.
“You can’t throw away the Champions League, you can’t throw away the Carabao Cup final. So it will be important how Mikel Arteta rotates, how he uses the team and avoids injuries,” he said.
“Arsenal have to take some sort of calculated risks in the FA Cup. I’m not taking that lightly, but you have to trust your second eleven until the semi-finals. The Carabao Cup final is a one-shot and you have to play against the best teams. In the Champions League you have to play against the best teams and of course in the Premier League.”
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William Saliba and Julian Timber react to Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea
“But the FA Cup gives Mikel Arteta a chance to take risks and that could be the competition for them to stumble. They play Mansfield in the fifth round so they will probably cross the line there but it could fall by the wayside as they progress.”
Arteta: “My heart almost stopped when Chelsea won”
Mikel Arteta said his “heart almost stopped” during the nerve-wracking finale of the win, in which David Raya sensationally pushed Alejandro Garnacho’s cross close to the post.
“He made a save in the last action that ended up being an unbelievable shot, but I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped, but David’s hands were there and brought it back to life.
“We’re trying to stay calm, but obviously we didn’t get the edge or the sequence of plays that we wanted and expected against 10 men.
“We’ve got to get through that and that’s a big part of this game. Everybody’s struggling because the margins are so small.”
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Mikel Arteta gives verdict on victory at Emirates Stadium
Julian Timber’s 66th-minute winner was Arsenal’s 16th goal from a corner kick this season, equaling the record shared by Oldham and West Brom in a single Premier League campaign with nine games remaining.
The set-piece goal gave Arsenal their second win in a week, following their 4-1 win over Spurs in last weekend’s North London derby, when they were tied at half-time.
Arteta added: “I reminded the players that seven days ago in the dressing room we were in exactly the same position against Tottenham.
“They said, ‘Look what happened in the second half! So we’re going to do it again, but we’re going to have to go through some tough patches to earn the right to win the game.’ And we certainly did that.”
