Liverpool have seen their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to just two points after consecutive draws.
The Reds face a crucial pre-Christmas weekend of action, with Chelsea having the possibility to leapfrog them into first place on Sunday.
Chelsea play Everton before Liverpool kick-off away at Tottenham. If the Blues win and the Reds do not, Enzo Maresca’s team will be top at Christmas.
It is also a big few days Arsenal, who face a difficult trip to Crystal Palace, whom they beat in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Gunners have made a bit of a mess of things in the Premier League and currently sit six points behind Liverpool having played a game more than the Reds.
Nevertheless, despite their difficult position, Gary Neville has explained why he thinks Mikel Arteta’s team still have what it takes to overhaul Liverpool and Chelsea.
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Gary Neville backs Arsenal for title win
Liverpool really need to get back to winning ways in the league on Sunday.
Back-to-back draws against Newcastle and Fulham have damaged their lead. Throw in the postponement against Everton, and the Reds have really given encouragement to their rivals.
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So far, Chelsea are the team who are capitalising on that. However, speaking on The Overlap US, Neville claims that Arsenal are actually the ones in a good position heading into Christmas.
“I’m frustrated by them because I do believe that not playing well up to Christmas and January and you’re a few points off the top of the league is a great position to be in,” said the Man United legend.
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“Because you do turn your form at some point when you’re a team like that, and Arsenal’s form will turn if they can get within a few points, and if they go on a run I think they’ll win it, that’s my honest view.
“But at the moment Chelsea and Liverpool are better, there’s no doubt.”
“I think they’ll hit their form, they’ve got a decent run of fixtures over Christmas,” Neville added.
“I think they’ll get within a few points and they’ll hit their form in the New Year. I do think they’ll win the league this season.”
Liverpool must maintain Arsenal lead
Although there is logic to what Neville is saying, it does rather ignore the fact that Liverpool could be nine points clear of them if they win their game in hand.
It’s also worth pointing out that the Gunners have only won half of their 16 league games this season and would need to do far better than that to get close to Liverpool, let alone overhaul them.
Liverpool have scored more an conceded less than Arsenal and there’s no reason to think that that will change moving forwards.
Having said all of that, leads can disappear quickly with a few poor results.
Liverpool do not need to give Arsenal, Chelsea or anyone else any further encouragement by dropping more points this weekend.
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