Gary Neville sticks neck out with bold 2025/26 Premier League title prediction
Gary Neville has stuck his neck out and backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title for the THIRD straight season. The Gunners have finished second for three straight campaigns, but they have a high-profile backer in the form of Neville, who is sticking by Mikel Arteta's side for the 2025/26 season.
Arsenal finished 10 points behind winners Liverpool this season, with their lack of a goalscorer costing them dear after Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus suffered injuries. They also ended up as nearly men in the Champions League, where they were beaten by eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals.
With new sporting director Andrea Berta in place, Arsenal are planning a big summer transfer window, with midfielder Martin Zubimendi arriving for £51million, while Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are the options being explored up front. Neville clearly believes the transfer window can take Arsenal to the next level because he thinks they can win their first Premier League title since 2003/04 next season.
Asked on It's Called Soccer podcast who will lift the 2025/26 Premier League trophy, he said: "I've got to go Arsenal again. I've got to double down, haven't I?
"I've gone there the last two seasons and they finished second in the last three seasons, actually. I didn't back them the first season, I backed City, but I backed them the last two and I'm going to stick with them."
Not many predicted Liverpool's 20th league title in the season just gone, with Arne Slot triumphing against the odds in his debut campaign. In fact, data provider Opta gave Liverpool just a 5.1 per cent chance before the season kicked off, with Manchester City backed at 82.2 per cent, ahead of Arsenal at 12.2 per cent.
Speaking on Sky Sports before the 2024/25 season kicked off, Neville said: 'I went with Arsenal to win the Premier League last year and I'm sticking with them this season. They are on an upward trajectory and they are getting better every single year.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Can Arsenal finally win the Premier League title next season, or is Gary Neville deluded? Comment below.
'Obviously, they are up against one of the great sides this league has ever produced in Manchester City under Pep Guardiola so it is always going to be tough. However, I feel like Arsenal have stability with the manager Mikel Arteta and they have stability in a team that is still improving.
'You cannot write of Manchester City, but I am going for Arsenal again. They were so close last year and I think they will be able to make that extra step this time.'
In his end of season awards for Sky Sports, Neville ended up only giving one Arsenal player a shout-out, with none making his Premier League team of the season. Left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly was named young player of the year by the ex-Manchester United defender after a breakthrough campaign for club and country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
26 minutes ago
- Metro
Man Utd set low asking price to sell Rasmus Hojlund after Benjamin Sesko bid
Manchester United are willing to sell Rasmus Hojlund for £30 million this summer, according to reports. United are in talks with RB Leipzig to sign Benjamin Sesko but are facing strong competition from Newcastle for the 22-year-old. Newcastle's offer worth €80 million (£69.8m), including €75m (£65.5m) up front, has been rejected by RB Leipzig, while United are yet to make a bid. Hojlund, meanwhile, struggled to make an impact for United last season, scoring just four goals in 32 Premier League appearances, while the 22-year-old also faced criticism over his link-up play in attack. United signed Hojlund for an initial £64 million fee from Atalanta two years ago and according to BBC Sport, the club would allow the Denmark international to leave Old Trafford this summer if their £30m asking price is met. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. AC Milan are among the clubs who are considering a move for Hojlund, who is currently with Ruben Amorim's squad as they prepare for the final game of their pre-season tour of the United States against Everton on Sunday. Speaking this week, Hojlund made it clear that he wants to fight for his place at United. 'The most important [thing] for me is to keep working hard and stay focused and then we'll see what happens,' Hojlund said. 'My plan is very clear and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot. 'Competition is fine with me, it sharpens me. I'm more than ready.' More Trending Meanwhile, Amorim has refused to rule out the prospect of United selling Hojlund before the end of the summer window. 'I'm really happy with Rasmus but I don't know what is going to happen until the end of the market,' Amorim said. 'The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He's connecting really well with the team. He's improving. 'I don't know what is going to happen until the market is closed. We suffered a lot because of the lack of goals last season.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho reacts to Chelsea transfer link MORE: Barcelona reject Chelsea swap offer for Christopher Nkunku MORE: Aaron Ramsdale speaks out on what made him want Newcastle move
Daily Mirror
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Man Utd transfer news: Benjamin Sesko twist as new signing set for debut
Manchester United are set to wrap up their tour of the United States against Everton on Sunday night with Bryan Mbeumo in line for his debut as striker saga rumbles on Manchester United are engaged in a tug of war with Newcastle United over their attempts to sign striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig - with the Toon submitting a bid to sign the Slovenia international amid fears that they will lose Alexander Isak to Liverpool. But United remain in the race with Newcatle's opening submission some way short of Leipzig's asking price. An offer exceeding £70m is set to be required for Sesko to depart the Bundesliga side. Ruben Amorim's team wrap up their tour of the United States on Sunday night against Everton with fresh speculation surrounding Bruno Fernandes ' interest from Saudi Arabia. But United will see Bryan Mbeumo play for the first time since his arrival from Brentford against David Moyes ' side. Here are the transfer tales worth keeping an eye on as the new season appears on the horizon. Sesko absence Benjamin Sesko was not in RB Leipzig's matchday squad for their friendly against Serie A side Atalanta on Saturday afternoon with the much coveted striker now at the centre of a tug of war between Manchester United and Newcastle. Xavi Simons, who has been linked with a switch to Chelsea, is also absent because of what the Bundesliga club described as a minor neck injury. They did not explain the reason for Sesko's omission. That follows news of Newcastle firming up their interest in the striker amid a separate saga over the future of their current top scorer Alexander Isak. The Toon have now lodged a bid of less than £70m for Sesko. Against that backdrop, Manchester United are braced for protracted negotiations with Bundesliga club Leipzig, who are determined to stand firm on their £70m valuation. Bruno interest Bruno Fernandes has fresh interest from Saudi Arabia, with Al-Nassr the latest club to express an interest in the Manchester United captain. The Portuguese midfielder was previously linked with a move to the Middle East earlier this summer. Al-Hilal had tabled a lucrative offer to Fernandes that would have seen him bank around €70m (£61.1m) per year. The Saudi side were also willing to offer United €120m (£104.7m) for their star midfielder. But, as per Portuguese outlet A Bola, Al-Nassr are now interested in a move for Fernandes. Manager Jorge Jesus is leading the club's interest having worked with the midfielder at former club Sporting Lisbon. Mbeumo bow Bryan Mbeumo will make his long-awaited Manchester United debut on Sunday on the final game of their US tour. Mbeumo, who joined United from Brentford in a deal worth up to £71million, sat out victories over West Ham and Bournemouth because he was behind the rest of the squad in terms of his pre-season fitness level. But the Cameroon winger, who plundered 20 Premier League goals for Brentford last season, will feature for Ruben Amorim's side as they sign off from the US tour against Everton in Atlanta's Mercedes Benz stadium. United boss Amorim said: 'He's going to play. I'm really excited to see him playing and what he can give to our team. But I was also really excited to see the team playing the last game.
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Too much ego, too much self-preservation – Russell Martin fumes at Rangers draw
Gers skipper James Tavernier headed in from a corner in the 14th minute but the Ibrox side failed to kick on and eventually succumbed in the 87th minute when Emmanuel Longelo drove in a deserved equaliser for a 1-1 draw. It is the third successive season that Rangers have failed to win their opening game, and on Sunday they could fall behind Old Firm rivals Celtic when the champions host St Mirren. In a spectacular post-match summation of his players, Martin, whose side progressed to the Champions League third qualifying round against Viktoria Plzen with a 3-1 aggregate win over Panathinaikos on Wednesday, said: 'I'm very disappointed and a bit hurt and a bit angry at a lot of stuff I saw. 'Motherwell were really good, credit to them. But I said to the players, the problems haven't been tactical, yet. They've been mentality, about energy, about courage, intensity, aggression, to play. 'We haven't started games well enough in the first half in the two European games and then showed a bit more willingness to trust the detail in each other and work. 'And then today, we go ahead and play some OK stuff. Every time we get in the final third, we turn the ball over and make crazy decisions. 'They're either selfish decisions or they're based on anxiety, so we need to get to the bottom of that. 'Because there was far too much stuff that we haven't worked on or haven't seen. 'It's not me digging them out. I take full responsibility for it. But that hurts me more than anything. 'The problem should be tactical, it shouldn't be mentality. So we have too many guys that slip into self-preservation mode. And I think it's been a fact of this club for the last few years for sure. 'So when it's going well, you're all-in, you want to run, you want the ball. It's nice, but when it's not going well, you don't want to run so much, you pick and choose when you want to run. 'You pick and choose when you want to compete and mark your player from a throw-in or a corner. 'You pick and choose when to run back, and it's unacceptable for this sort of club. And for us as a coaching staff, this is not acceptable. 'We're six weeks in, there will be issues. But the issue today is purely mentality. 'So too much ego, too much self-preservation, and you're either all-in all the time or you're not. And if you're not, you just won't play very much.' Motherwell's new boss Jens Berthel Askou, a former team-mate of Martin at Norwich who was taking charge of his first league game, was disappointed his side did not take all three points. 'I said to players, I was very disappointed on their behalf that they didn't get the win at the end because we did everything we could to get the win,' he said. 'But again, that's down to quality also in these small situations and we'll keep working on that and sharpen that up. 'I think they gave themselves the opportunity to win, and that's where it starts with the effort and with the desperation to go forward and to punish them on their transitions and to really work extremely hard throughout the entire game. 'I was very happy with that and I know that if we are able to put our performances like this over time, that there will be many other opportunities to win games.'
