Gary Neville makes bold prediction for Liverpool vs Arsenal as weakness becomes clear

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Arsenal visit Anfield at the perfect time and can take advantage of Liverpool ’s defensive frailties to take an early lead in the Premier League title race. That’s the opinion of Gary Neville , who has backed Mikel Arteta ’s side to triumph on Sunday.

The defending Premier League champions host the Gunners at Anfield at 4.30pm on Sunday in the biggest game of the season so far. Both sides have perfect records after two matches, but Liverpool have certainly been the streakier of the two.

Arne Slot ’s side kicked off the campaign with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth , which needed two late goals, before snatching a 3-2 victory at Newcastle with a 100th-minute winner from Rio Ngumoha. Arsenal , meanwhile, beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford before smashing Leeds 5-0 at home.

The Gunners have finished second for three straight seasons and know they need to lay down a marker at Anfield on Sunday. Jamie Carragher was hugely critical of Liverpool’s performance at St James’ Park on Monday, but believes his ex-club will still beat Arsenal 2-1.

But speaking on The Overlap , Neville responded: "I fancy Arsenal to win. I’m going to let him (Carragher) pick the score, but I think Arsenal will win. Arsenal to score two from set-pieces. It will be the land of the giants with Arsenal on Sunday.

“He’ll go with [Mikel] Merino, [Declan] Rice, [Martin] Zubimendi, then [Eberechi] Eze or [Leandro] Trossard, but he’ll have the big back four, four or five in the box and they’ll score from set pieces. I think Arsenal will score two from set pieces, Liverpool will score one and it will be 2-1 to Arsenal.”

Arsenal legend Ian Wright is also confident of his old club’s chances this weekend and agreed with Neville. “I think Liverpool will score one, but I’m going 2-1 to Arsenal,” he said. “If that [Liverpool] defence did what they did against Bournemouth, we can win the game.”

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Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has warned his team-mates that they must be better to beat Arsenal. “I'm really looking forward to it,” he said after the Newcastle win. “We're playing a fantastic team with a great manager that has been challenging for the Premier League for many years now as well.

“The games we played against each other are very intense as well. We have a week now to prepare and we will recover now and then we have to be ready.

"The Premier League has no easy games so it doesn't really matter who you are going to face - it is always going to be difficult, especially when we're at the stage we're at right now where the transfer window is still open.”

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.

Premier LeagueArsenalLate WinnerLiverpoolGary NevilleMikel ArtetaJamie CarragherVirgil van Dijk