Neville Right Again? by Dan Smith
There’s a certain irony that Gary Neville is now encouraging Gooners to look at the positives in terms of the title race.
A pundit who has riled up some of our supporters with his long-held prediction that we wouldn’t win the Prem Is now preaching that Arsenal should be upbeat about their current situation.
Yet again I agree with him.
Do I think we will get a result at the Etihad? A league fixture Man City are unbeaten in 14 games, winning the last 12 straight.
I have always maintained that if our record is so bad at one stadium, it’s unlikely we alter that the season we are under the most pressure to get a result.
I also respect the standards Pep Guardiola has set and fully anticipated the Champions would put together their current winning sequence.
There is a difference though between what you believe will happen and what could happen.
Just because I (and Neville) don’t think we have the mentality to get a result next Wednesday, it doesn’t mean we are not in a glorious position.
At the end of the day, my point of view is not important. Nor is the opinion of anyone on TV or Radio. The only people’s who’s thought process is crucial are our manager and current squad.
Our draw in Manchester keeps our destiny in our hands and as professional sportsmen it would be irresponsible not to have faith in your own ability.
With 7 matches to go, the Gunners are in charge of their own fate and while that brings nerves, they should also be excited about what they could achieve.
Neville explained on SkySports that Sir Alex Ferguson every pre-season would ask: ‘If you had to win one game to win the league, would you take it? And the answer was yes.
“If you were handed this opportunity at the start of the season, that you have to go and win away at a ground to win the league, you’d snap someone’s hand off to have that opportunity every single year. So, this is something to be excited about, this is not something to feel pressure about”.
The ex-right back also added that Man City will love this game because of its magnitude.
That’s the difference between us and them. Not just are they dealing with the expectation of ‘squeaky bum time’ but they look like they are enjoying every part of it.
You know Haaland, Grealish, Silva, Stones, etc, will play with smiles on their faces next week.
We don’t yet know the same about our youngsters. They could show up and simply be crippled by the fear of failure.
They shouldn’t be.
They should treat it like it’s their World Cup Final, the game of their lives. Do that and form goes out of the window.
Dan
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