Mixed Reactions as Gary Neville Claims 2nd Place Would Still Be a Good Season for Arsenal

• Gary Neville claimed a second-placed finish would still be an achievement for Arsenal
• His controversial sentiments were met with fierce opposition from his fellow pundits
• Arsenal tied against West Ham and offered Manchester City a chance to close the gap

Manchester United legend, Gary Neville split fans down the middle after boldly claiming a second-place finish would still be an achievement for Arsenal this season.

A couple of weeks ago, the Gunners were a massive eight points clear at the top of the table, with Manchester City desperately chasing.

But fast forward to April 16 and the successive 2-2 draws against Liverpool and West Ham United have seen the lead cut to just four points, with Man City having the chance to move to within a point of Arsenal if they win their game in hand.

'Second still a good season'

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After the West Ham draw, there is a general feeling that Arsenal may have blown their biggest chance to win their first Premier League title since the 'Invincibles' in 2004.

Neville has been quite vocal about Man City’s title credentials throughout the season, even when Arsenal were high-flying a couple of weeks back.

The Sky Sports pundit maintained his stance but came up with quite an unpopular opinion as he claimed the Gunners should still consider their season successful if they end up as runners-up in the 2022/23 title race.

"Arsenal finishing second would still be an unbelievable season,” he said via Sky Sports.

His fellow pundits on the day, Roy Keane and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were in utter disagreement as they claimed the Gunners’ season would be a disaster if they ended up bottling the league.

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Fans also chimed in on the debate with varying opinions.

Fans react to Neville's comments

@YellowmanRobert said:

"Start of the season i never saw us being in with a shout to win the league, if we dont finish top not a problem second will do me, we come back next season and push again."

@mickeyjayjay added:

"The huge strides Arsenal have undertaken this season, to have a seven-point lead and not win the Prem is harsh. It's over 38 games and on top at the moment, looks like it's going to be tough, City have been there and got the T-shirt... No one remembers who were second"

@GregThompson said:

"Again,this whole idea of failure despite achieving more than anyone expected is warped. Arsenal were 50/1 to win the title.If they don’t they’ve still been excellent & players/manager deserve credit. Some would be more praising of them if they’d had a steady season & finished 4th"

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@DarrenMichael said:

"8 points clear. Out of every cup competition. Playing once a week. No matter how you justify it, it will be a bottle job. End of story."

@Archer85 added:

"Of course it would be a great season. Nobody thought they'd be in this position back in August. Just because they've performed above expectations, doesn't mean being anything less than champions is failure. From 5th to 2nd and a title challenge is great progress,"

While @Stuart said:

"I can’t deal with some arsenal fans saying it’s a good season when you were at points 8 points clear at the top and favourites for the Europa league. It’ll be a huge disappointment to go trophyless. Reminds me of Chelsea’s 13/14 season.

 Arteta rates Arsenal’s title chances

Sports Brief also reported on Mikel Arteta's view on Arsenal's chances in the EPL title race after the damaging draw against West Ham.

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Asked whether the complexion of the race to the title had changed since, Arteta downplayed any pressure from Man City at this stage.

"It's [the title race] the same, I don't know how many notches there were a few months ago. We can't control it."