‘It will make things very difficult’ – Gary Neville warns Arsenal over new issue that could prevent them winning title
GARY NEVILLE has warned that Arsenal will find it ‘really difficult’ to win the Premier League if recent defensive issues continue for the rest of the season.
The Gunners are looking to get their hands on the Premier League trophy for the first time since 2004.
Mikel Arteta’s men conceded 16 goals in the first 19 games of the season but have shipped 12 in their last six in all competitions.
Arsenal came from behind twice to beat Aston Villa 4-2 at Villa Park having lost 3-1 to Manchester City recently.
It turned out to be a good weekend for the north London side as closest challengers City dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest.
Sky Sports pundit Neville insisted it was a ‘good weekend’ for Arsenal but warned their title challenge could falter if they keep leaking goals.
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast Neville said: ” One thing I would say though is that Arsenal have conceded 12 goals in the last six games.
“One of the traits of a run-in is if you’re conceding goals and teams think they have a chance of scoring, it’s very difficult to win a league, it really is.
“They just need to watch that. This weekend will give them confidence and if they can get back to some clean sheets that will be really important.”
Neville concluded: “Conceding goals is something they just need to watch out for because that will make things very difficult for them.”
It appeared that Arsenal’s title charge was faltering as they trailed at Villa having already lost to Everton and Manchester City and dropped points to Brentford in their last three games.
Arteta’s men responded superbly and fought back to beat Unai Emery’s men and return to the top of the table.
Arsenal are next in action on Saturday when they travel to Leicester City.