Neville: Arsenal Will Retain Premier League Title, Never Been This Certain After First Round

On August 24 Beijing time, with only Fulham vs. Chelsea still to be played in the Premier League opening round, commentator Gary Neville gave a clear 'Premier League finale' conclusion while reviewing the performances of all teams in the first round, believing that no team can threaten Arsenal's title defense campaign.

Neville said: "Manchester City certainly deserved to win this match. Look at the chances Haaland missed, as well as Guehi's header opportunity, but what really surprised me was when I saw Manchester City's starting lineup..."

"I did not expect the match to be like this, and I did not expect those players to appear in those positions. Rico Lewis played at right-back, O'Reilly played at left-back, Guehi played in midfield, and Foden was on the right wing. So overall it was a bit... how should I put it? I don't think it was very reasonable."

"From Manchester City's perspective, winning this match was very important, especially for Maresca. They did deserve to win the game, but they did not win easily. The team still has some issues that are worth worrying about."

"When making predictions over the past week, I kept thinking this could be the most unpredictable season. It will be very interesting because there are many new managers and new players... But I think Arsenal should retain the league title by a big margin. By Sunday night, my thoughts had not changed, and I was even more convinced."

"We saw Tottenham lose yesterday, Manchester United also lost, Liverpool almost lost today, and Manchester City struggled to get a win at home. Everything we expected to happen seems to be happening. Ipswich beat Sunderland, Villa lost 0-4, and these results all show that the top teams in the table may no longer be able to maintain enough consistency like they did last season and the season before, consistently beating Brentford, Ipswich or other well-organized teams. Hull City is the same."

"So far, the developments are basically what I expected. For Manchester City, this was a good win, but they still have some problems. Manchester City and Liverpool were once teams that came close to 100 points or actually reached 100 points. How long ago was that? Five or six years ago, or six or seven years ago? But those memories are still very clear. They have both won the Champions League and lifted the Premier League title multiple times."

"So we are still measuring these two clubs by the standards they established in the past, and right now they are still far from that level. This Liverpool side is a long way from being a team that can truly win the Premier League title, and they have a lot of work to do. Manchester City are the same; they are far from the level they should be at, and losing Rodri is a huge blow for them."

"Arsenal will certainly be very confident now. This may be the first time in my life that, after only one Premier League matchday, I have been so certain that a team will eventually win the league title."

"Of course, I could be proven wrong at the end of the season. But based only on the feeling after the first round, this is the time I have been most certain that we will see Arsenal successfully defend the title."