Neville also said Arsenal cannot compete with the likes of City, Liverpool, Chelsea, and even Man United, who are currently in 6th position
By Kehinde Okeowo
Former England international, Gary Neville, has predicted that Arsenal gaffer, Mikel Arteta is likely to leave the club, even if they claim the final Champions League position in the Premier League this season.
The North London club are currently in pole position to finish in fourth place, as they sit three points above fierce rivals Spurs with 10 fixtures left to play.
That would represent a remarkable turnaround after Arsenal sat bottom in the 20th position after losing their first three matches of the season and having finished 8th and missed out on European places last season.
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However, Neville during a Sky Sports fan debate argued Arteta may decide to leave the club next season even if they finish fourth because they are not ambitious and ‘not going to compete’ with the current top three teams and Man United, who are currently in 6th position.
Neville said, “I like Mikel Arteta, I think he’s a brilliant coach. I think the team is fantastic in terms of the young players they’ve got.
“But it’s interesting when you’re in a cycle of a club and you depress the ambition and have a significant period of failure because you then get really happy about finishing fourth.
“I found myself saying that about Manchester United. But it’s because of a depressed ambition.
“I think Mikel Arteta is a good operator. My concern is if Arsenal finish fourth this season – which to be fair, I think is 50/50, I still think there’s a long way to go in that race – but if they finish fourth, that’s in some ways as good as it gets.
“You’ve got Pep [Guardiola], [Jurgen] Klopp, Man United, Chelsea, where can Arsenal go? They’re not going to compete.
“Mikel Arteta is a brilliant coach, I love that we’re seeing a team that he’s getting the maximum out of, I can see exactly how he wants to play, we all can.
“But he gets to fourth [and] if he was really hard about it, he’d probably say “right, that’s the best I can do there, I’m going now and getting my next job.”
