Gary Lineker has changed his Premier League title prediction after Manchester City took advantage of Arsenal’s defeat to Bournemouth by beating Chelsea.
Arsenal had the chance to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday but slipped to a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth.
Man City took full advantage of their title rivals’ setback, thumping Chelsea 3-0 on Sunday to cut Arsenal’s lead in the title race to just six points.
Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand to pull even closer to Arsenal and a monumental home match against the Gunners next weekend.
England legend Lineker has repeatedly backed Arsenal to become Premier League champions but has changed his mind after a potentially defining weekend in the title race.
‘They had nothing against Bournemouth, no creativity whatsoever,’ Lineker said on The Rest is Football podcast. ‘They didn’t seem to have any belief at all.
‘They weren’t even very good defensively and they’ve pretty much been able to guarantee that this season.
‘It was the first time I thought they might not win the title, particularly following Man City’s performance against Chelsea in the second half when I thought they were absolutely brilliant.
‘I just thought to myself, for the first time I’m actually not sure Arsenal are going to do it. I’ve been convinced for months but I’m not sure now. Next week’s game is a monster, isn’t it?
‘I’ve been telling everyone I know that Arsenal will be fine and that they’re not going to choke. But they’re stuttering, they’ve lost their form at the moment and we know how important momentum is.
‘And all the momentum now is with Man City. It’s so tough to call now but if you said you need to put your life on the line, which I’d hate to have to do under these circumstances, I’d probably now go City because I think they will win next week.’
Meanwhile, Gary Neville – who won eight Premier League titles at Manchester United – believes it will be ‘traumatic’ for Arsenal if they miss out on the title once again.
‘I said a few months ago that Arsenal have to win this title from the position that they’re in and I still believe they have to because it’s a long road back at the end of the season,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
‘If they don’t win it this year, it will really be traumatic. We know the build-up to the game next week, what the narrative is going to be against Arsenal – that Man City are going to catch you, and there seems to be a sense of joy watching Arsenal collapse.
‘They’ve got to try and swim against the tide and hold their nerve. They’ve got a job to do in midweek in the Champions League, which actually might be helpful for them.
‘If Arsenal had a week to think about this match (against Man City), I don’t think it would help them at all. They can maybe get some confidence through progressing to the Champions League semi-final.
‘But before next Sunday, they’ve got to find a balance of that emotion that you need, which is passion and fight to win a football match, but not becoming too desperate.
‘Arsenal losing on Saturday isn’t because they don’t want it – it’s because they want it too much and their legs have started to get heavy.
‘You’re going for your first title, you start to become consumed, and it’s the mentally emotional drain that means your legs physically appear tired.
‘That’s a bit of what we saw against Bournemouth – the expectation of ‘we’re going to win this match, we’re going to win a title, and we’re desperate to do it’.
‘They’re not saying that themselves, it’s the noise around the club, the emotion in the stadium, the expectation, the fact they’ve not done it in the last two or three years when they’ve been in this position.
‘This is where it gets real. This is the title race now, and they’ve got to somehow clear their minds and get that emotional balance correct.’
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