Arsenal news: Gary Neville doubles down as ‘ridiculous’ Mikel Arteta sack verdict given

Arsenal have raced to the summit of the Premier League table as head coach Mikel Arteta faces increasing pressure to land a trophy at the Emirates Stadium this season

Arsenal are suddenly the overwhelming favourites to win the Premier League thanks to their stellar recent form. Mikel Arteta’s side have won three league games on the bounce to go three points clear of their rivals after eight matches.

The Gunners’ 4-0 drubbing of Atletico Madrid in the Champions League’s league phase midweek sent a clear message that they are also a force to be reckoned with in Europe, where they have enjoyed a perfect start.

But, as we are well aware, football moves on quickly and Arteta will now have to shift his players’ focus to Sunday’s tough home fixture against Crystal Palace. Now, we take a look at some of the latest conversations surrounding Arsenal and their manager, as their impressive form leads to great expectations.

Arteta sack calls ‘ridiculous’

Danny Murphy expects Arsenal to win the Premier League this season. But, in contrast to other pundits and some fans who believe it will be a failure if Arteta doesn’t lift a major trophy this term, Murphy thinks it would be “ridiculous” to get rid of the Spaniard, should they maintain this level of performance and still fall short of their ambitions.

He said on talkSPORT: “I think they will win the Premier League. In the Champions League… PSG, when everyone is fit, they’re on a different level. But I don’t agree that Mikel Arteta has to win something.

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“If you get 98 points and lose the title on the final day or lose the Champions League final in extra-time because of a bad refereeing decision you’re not going to get rid of the manager, are you? That would be ridiculous.

“So I don’t think he has to win something, but he would have to be damn unlucky and be competitive right until the end in both competitions to be forgiven.”

Neville makes bold Gunners prediction

Gary Neville has been vocal in backing Arsenal to win the Premier League this season, having seen the same prediction fall short last term. The Manchester United legend has been guilty of making sweeping, reactionary comments when results haven’t gone the Gunners’ way in recent times, slamming what he deemed to be an overly cautious approach against Liverpool and Manchester City earlier this season.

However, Neville has now claimed their recent results against top opposition mean they must win the Premier League title from here. “They’ve played United away, Man City, Liverpool away. They’ve played nearly everybody already and they’re where they are,” Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast.

“It is wrong to say this because it is ridiculous and we’ve all been in title races. If they don’t win it from here… we’ve all predicted Arsenal to win the league right, we know it can go wrong.

“If they don’t win it from where the other teams are and the confident position they’re in now… a lot can change, but they’re in a good place. It feels like the Newcastle game turned the corner.

“It’s not a putting pressure on them statement, they just must be thinking, ‘This is us, this year, we’ve got to win it’. When you can bring in Myles Lewis-Skelly for Riccardo Calafiori and Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera coming in with no drop off, it’s looking scary.”

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