Gary Neville continues to believe that Arsenal is the favourite in the Premier League title race, even with Manchester City's perfect start to the season. Enzo Maresca's side has won all four of their matches and is currently level with the reigning champions.
In their most recent outing, City clinched a narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford, thanks to a second-half goal from Erling Haaland. However, even this result did little to sway Neville's opinion of the title race dynamics.
The former Manchester United captain highlighted the significant transformation in City's fortunes following their late summer signings of Enzo Fernandez, Ayoub Boadi, and Iliman Ndiaye.
Gary Neville stated:
Just two to three weeks before the transfer window closed, City lacked Boadi, Fernandez, and Ndiaye, and it seemed they were seriously short of players, particularly in central midfield.
Then they signed those three for around £250 million, and the team looked completely different.
Despite this investment, Neville emphasised that City's defensive stability would be a crucial factor:
A lot will depend on City's defence. Whether Ruben Dias can stay fit, whether Josko Gvardiol can avoid injuries.
If they can steer clear of injuries, City can pose a real challenge to Arsenal. I still believe Arsenal is stronger, but City has significantly improved with their late-window signings.
After four matches, both Manchester City and Arsenal have a perfect record, having not dropped a single point as they continue to jostle for position at the top of the Premier League table.
