Gary Neville makes Arsenal and Chelsea title claim after Liverpool draw with Newcastle

Man Utd legend and ex-England defender Gary Neville (Picture: Getty)

Gary Neville has ‘never been so sure’ Arsenal will retain the Premier League trophy and says Chelsea could be their biggest rivals as neither Manchester City or Liverpool look like title-winning teams.

The Gunners began their title defence with a routine 3-0 win over newly-promoted Coventry City on Friday night.

Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka scored first-half goals for Mikel Arteta’s side before Martin Odegaard added a third after the break.

Man City and Liverpool, who could be two of Arsenal’s biggest rivals for the title, were both in action on Sunday, with Enzo Maresca’s team coming from behind to beat Bournemouth and Andoni Iraola’s side scoring a last-minute equaliser at Newcastle United.

Maresca’s first Premier League game in charge of Man City looked set to end in defeat as Bournemouth led for almost an hour following Marcus Tavernier’s first-half opener.

But Marc Guehi headed home a late equaliser before Josko Gvardiol scored an injury-time winner for Manchester City, who finished seven points behind Arsenal last season.

Liverpool trailed twice at St James’ Park but Dominik Szoboszlai’s penalty with virtually the lack kick of the game earned the Reds a point at much-changed Newcastle.

Arsenal brushed aside Coventry City (Picture: Getty)

Neville cannot see Liverpool mounting a title challenge after their opening draw with Newcastle and says there are also ‘lots of questions’ over Man City in their first season without Pep Guardiola.

As a result the Manchester United legend and former England defender expects Arsenal to storm to back-to-back Premier League titles.

‘Last week when we were previewing the season all I kept thinking was this is going to be the most unpredictable season and it’s going to be intriguing,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.

Man City survived a scare against Bournemouth (Picture: Getty)

‘We’ve got new managers, lots of new players and so much change at the top. Arsenal should win this league by a street.

‘We’ve seen Tottenham get beaten, Man United lose, Liverpool nearly lose, Man City scrambling for a win at home…

‘The unpredictable nature we thought we’d see at the top we have seen on this opening weekend. It’s played out pretty much how I thought it would do.

Arsenal are bidding to retain the Premier League trophy (Picture: Getty)

‘Arsenal are going to be feeling really confident right now. It’s the most sure I’ve ever been – and look, I could have egg on my face come the end of the season – but it’s the most sure I’ve ever been after game one that we’re going to see a team be Premier League champions.

‘I think Chelsea will finish second because of the squad and the lack of European competition and they’ve got a great manager.

‘I do think Chelsea have a great chance to push Arsenal this year and finish second.’

Liverpool avoided defeat at Newcastle United (Picture: Getty)

On Manchester City’s opening win over Bournemouth, Neville added: ‘They deserved to win the game if you look at some of the chances they missed.

‘I thought they were really bright early on but the shock for me was the formation with Nico O’Reilly at left-back and Marc Guehi in midfield. It was a bit of a surprise and didn’t look quite right.

‘It was really important for Man City and Enzo Maresca to get that win because there’s pressure on him there.

‘They deserved to win but it wasn’t plain-sailing, there’s still a lot of questions there. We’re measuring Man City and Liverpool by he standards they’ve previously set and they’re nowhere near those standards.

‘You can’t say Liverpool didn’t deserve a point out of the game because they created a lot of chances.

‘I think Liverpool will be happy with the point and the way the game ended but deep down, when you’re measuring yourself against the teams they’ve had recently that have won titles, I think they’ll be thinking “we’ve got a lot of work to do”. They’re nowhere near a title-winning team, I don’t think.