Gary Neville makes huge Arsenal title prediction as Liverpool and Man City doubts emerge

Gary Neville believes Arsenal should win the Premier League comfortably this season, claiming Liverpool and Manchester City are currently nowhere near the level required to challenge the Gunners.

After watching several of Arsenal's expected rivals struggle on the opening weekend, the former Manchester United defender believes the title race could become one of the most predictable in recent memory.

Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, Neville pointed towards the difficult opening weekend endured by several of Arsenal's rivals.

Tottenham suffered a heavy defeat against Brentford, while Manchester United also started their campaign with a loss.

Liverpool needed a dramatic late equaliser to rescue a point against Newcastle United, while Manchester City were pushed hard before eventually beating Bournemouth.

For Neville, those performances only strengthened his belief that Arsenal are significantly ahead of the competition.

“Looking at the league, Arsenal should win this comfortably,” Neville said.

He believes some of their rivals are already showing weaknesses that could prevent them from mounting a sustained title challenge.

Neville was particularly doubtful about Liverpool.

Andoni Iraola's side recovered to draw their opening game, but Neville does not believe the current Liverpool team is ready to challenge Arsenal over an entire season.

He described the Reds as “nowhere near the level to win the Premier League” at present.

Liverpool have undergone significant changes and remain active in the transfer market, but Neville clearly believes Iraola has considerable work ahead of him.

Manchester City also escaped the opening weekend with three points, but their performance did little to convince Neville.

City were forced to fight until the closing stages against Bournemouth and Neville believes they remain below the standards required to compete with Arsenal.

“Both of those teams are not going to get near Arsenal,” he said when discussing Liverpool and City.

That is a major prediction given the quality and spending power available to both clubs.

Arsenal opened their Premier League campaign with victory and sit second after the first round of fixtures.

Brighton currently lead the table following their emphatic 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, but Neville's focus is firmly on the Gunners when assessing the season-long title picture.

While only one round has been played, he believes the early signs already underline the gap Arsenal have established over their main rivals.

One weekend is far too early to decide a Premier League title race, but Neville has already made his position clear.

He sees Arsenal as the outstanding team in the competition and believes Liverpool and Manchester City have significant ground to make up.

With a long season still ahead, the pressure is now on Arsenal's rivals to prove his prediction wrong.

Is Gary Neville right that Arsenal are already comfortably ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City?