Gary Lineker has changed his Premier League post title prediction Manchester City benefited from Arsenalthe loss of Bournemouth beating Chelsea.
Arsenal had the chance to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday, but slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.
Man City took full advantage of the failure of their title rivals, beating Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday to cut Arsenal’s lead in the title race to just six points.
Pep Guardiola‘s side have a game in hand to move even closer to Arsenal and a monumental home game against the Gunners next weekend.
England legend Lineker has has consistently backed Arsenal to become Premier League champions but has changed his mind after a potentially defining weekend in the title race.
“They had nothing against Bournemouth, no creativity,” Lineker said The rest is the football podcast. “They didn’t seem to have any confidence at all.
“They weren’t very good defensively either and they have been able to guarantee that this season.
“It was the first time I thought they might not win the title, especially after Man City’s performance against Chelsea in the second half, when I thought they were absolutely brilliant.
I just thought to myself, for the first time I’m not sure Arsenal will do it. I’ve been convinced for months, but I’m not sure now. Next week’s game is a monster, right?
“I’ve told everyone I know that Arsenal will be fine and that they won’t sink. But they’re stuttering, they’ve lost their form at the moment and we know how important the moment is.
“And the whole momentum now is at Man City. It’s very difficult to call now, but if you say you have to put your life on the line, which I would hate to do in these circumstances, I’d probably go to City now because I think they’re going to win next week.’
Meanwhile, Gary Neville – who won eight Premier League titles with Manchester United – believes it will be ‘traumatic’ for Arsenal if they lose the title once again.
“I said a few months ago that Arsenal should win this title from the position they are in and I still believe they should because it is a long way back at the end of the season,” said Neville. Sky Sports.
“If they don’t win this year, it will be really traumatic. We know going into the game next week, what the narrative will be against Arsenal – that Man City will catch you and there seems to be a sense of glee in seeing Arsenal go down.
“They have to try to swim against the tide and hold their nerve. They have a job to do in midweek in the Champions League, which could actually be beneficial for them.
“If Arsenal had a week to think about this game (against Man City), I don’t think it would help them at all. They can probably get some confidence by going to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“But before next Sunday, they have to find a balance of that emotion that you need, which is passion and fighting to win a game of football, but not getting too desperate.
Arsenal’s defeat on Saturday isn’t because they don’t want it – it’s because they want it too much and their legs are starting to get heavy.
“You’re going for your first title, you start to wear down and it’s mental emotional exhaustion that means your legs look physically tired.
“That’s a bit of what we saw against Bournemouth – the expectation of ‘we’re going to win this game, we’re going to win a title and we’re desperate to do it.’
“They don’t say it themselves, it’s the buzz around the club, the excitement in the stadium, the expectation, the fact that they haven’t done it in the last two or three years when they’ve been in this position.
‘This is where it gets real. This is the title race now, and they have to sort of clear their minds and sort out that emotional balance.’
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