Neville and Carragher agree on Arsenal title but clash over Chelsea, United and Liverpool

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher are united on one thing heading into the new Premier League season: Arsenal will win the title. Beyond that, the two former England internationals can find very little common ground.

Both pundits backed the Gunners to claim a second consecutive championship, with Neville declaring they are “way out in front” of the rest of the division. Their predictions come after an opening weekend that saw Manchester United and Tottenham suffer heavy defeats against Hull and Brentford respectively, while Arsenal opened their title defence with a convincing victory over Coventry. Manchester City came from behind to beat Bournemouth, Liverpool snatched a 2-2 draw at Newcastle, and Chelsea edged Fulham 3-2 on Monday night.

Neville’s most striking call is Chelsea finishing second. He pointed to the club’s summer recruitment, the arrival of Xabi Alonso, and their absence from European competition as decisive advantages. “If they keep Enzo Fernandez, with Moises Caicedo in midfield, with that front three, and they’re only playing 45 games, they’re going to amass an enormous amount of points,” he said. “They’re not going to have the injury pressures, they’re not going to have the travelling that comes with European football, and the mental fatigue that comes with that. I think they’ll just edge past Manchester City.”

On the battle for fourth, both men predictably backed their former clubs — Neville tipping Manchester United and Carragher favouring Liverpool — though neither sounded entirely convinced. “I can’t separate Man Utd and Liverpool in fourth place, I genuinely have no idea,” Neville admitted. “At the moment, I’m not convinced by United or Liverpool, but I do think they’ll finish fourth and fifth.” Carragher was equally measured about Liverpool’s prospects, saying he sees “no way they’d be in the top two” given where the club currently stands.

At the bottom of the table, Carragher raised eyebrows by tipping Sunderland as a relegation candidate. The Black Cats finished seventh in their first season back in the top flight, making the prediction one of the more surprising calls of the pair’s preview.

With less than a week remaining in the summer transfer window, both pundits acknowledged that squad changes before the deadline could yet reshape the picture they have painted.