Gary Neville’s Premier League title prediction on Monday Night Football perplexed Jamie Carragher..
Despite both believing Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta should be named manager of the year, the two pundits disagreed on which club would finish the season on top of the table. Carragher questioned Neville’s selection, as the former Manchester United defender had predicted the Gunners would finish third, behind Manchester City and United.
“Mikel Arteta has a fantastic opportunity to break,” Neville said of Arteta’s season. You suddenly win the league with Arsenal, you’re in Barcelona territory, super-manager territory, and you’ve accomplished something magical..
Neville replied: “Right, Mikel Arteta is the manager of the year, even if he finishes third, second or first. It’s because at the end of last season, I thought they were in significant trouble. He (Carragher) said he thinks they’d be in big trouble this season, we both said it.”
Carragher continued: “The whole point of football is you then watch something happening differently and then change your view.”
We both agreed that he (Carragher) believes they will be in big trouble this season.”
“The whole point of football is that you then watch something happening differently and then change your view,” Carragher continued.
Finally, Neville concluded his argument with: “That’s still a fantastic season, whether you finish first, second, or third. I know Arsenal fans, perhaps even Mikel Arteta, would say that finishing second or third would be disappointing from where they are now. But it would be a fantastic season…
Arsenal, whom Carragher predicted would win the league, currently leads nearest rivals City by five points at the top of the table and is 11 points ahead of third-place Newcastle United..
Arteta’s team has a game in hand on their title rivals, but has yet to face City in the league this season. The two teams will play a rearranged game at Emirates Stadium on February 26 before the rematch on April 26.
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