Gary Neville makes ‘really strange’ claim about Arsenal’s top four hopes after Old Trafford loss

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Gary Neville loved Arsenal’s performance against Manchester United and is more confident of them finishing in the top four now.

Arsenal were looking for a sixth straight win to open the Premier League season but just fell short.

The Gunners fell behind to a goal from United’s new signing Antony, but only after a Gabriel Martinelli goal had been controversially ruled out.

Bukayo Saka did draw Arsenal level but Marcus Rashford bagged a brace on the break to give United a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford.

Arsenal went for it at 2-1 down but left themselves open at the back, meaning their winning run has now come to an end.

Gary Neville loved Arsenal’s performance

Arsenal of course won’t be happy to have finally lost this season but there were plenty of encouraging signs.

Gabriel Jesus was outstanding in attack, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were a threat throughout and the way Arteta’s side built attacks was hugely impressive.

Yes, it will go down as a defeat and praise won’t exactly make up for that, but there are signs that Arsenal’s top four push this season can be a success.

One man who was effusive with his praise of Arsenal was Gary Neville, who was speaking on Sky Sports (04/09, 6:20pm).

Neville spoke in injury time, stating that he is actually more confident of Arsenal getting in the top four now than he was before.

Wins over Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Bournemouth, Fulham and Aston Villa seemingly didn’t quite to enough to convince Neville.

Yet having seen Arsenal put in such an exciting performance at Old Trafford, Neville now feels more confident than before – even after a defeat!

Neville suggested that Arsenal were ‘really good’ at United and is backing them to finish off games stronger in the future having crumbled a little towards the end against United.

“It might sound a really strange thing to say when they’re on the back of a 3-1 beating, but I actually feel more confident in Arsenal’s top four chances having watched them today than I did in the previous four or five matches against the teams they’ve played against,” said Neville.

“They’ve been really good at times, and they’ll get that last part of games right more often than not if they carry on playing like this,” he added.

Arsenal fans have heard pundits saying that their start has been ‘easy’, but having the backing of Neville – somebody who was never all that confident in the Gunners last season – just shows the progress being made under Arteta.