Gary Neville has admitted he wouldn’t be surprised if Manchester United beat Arsenal on Wednesday despite their current form.
Jose Mourinho’s side came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Southampton while Arsenal impressed in the North London derby beating Tottenham 4-2.
Unai Emery’s side sit eight points ahead of United in fourth place in the Premier League table but despite the points difference and the recent form Neville wouldn’t be surprised if Mourinho’s side ran out winners at Old Trafford.
“Old Trafford is always a difficult place to go so it wouldn’t surprise me if United win on Wednesday night. However, what United will now recognise is that they have had that warning from Arsenal (with how they beat Spurs),” Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast.
“No team should be shocked about how Arsenal are going to play going in to big matches.
“United will think ‘oh this is different,’ they don’t have a soft centre any more. This is a team that do make challenges and do press the ball, that do get the foot in and have quality.”
The former United captain also believes Mourinho’s side have a huge battle on their hands to secure Champions League football for next season.
“United are in a massive battle to get in the top four, or the Europa League places in fact,” he added.
“If you’re Chelsea and Spurs you’ll be looking over your shoulder at Arsenal. I don’t think Liverpool and City need to worry (about reaching the top four). I think they’re the two outstanding teams who will finish in the top four. If you’re Manchester United, where are you at?
“So in terms of top four you would think Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, it’s two from that three. Because United have got to prove a lot more than they have done this season, they have to prove that they can compete with this Arsenal team.”