After Sunday's defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates, Manchester United appear to definitively be out of their short-lived title contention.
An impressive post-World Cup run of form had put United just one point behind Manchester City, and they had a chance to go within just three of Arsenal at the top of the table, but dropped points against Crystal Palace and a loss at the Emirates now leave them several points behind.
Arsenal are now 11 points ahead of United, and have a game in hand, while City lie six points ahead of their Manchester rivals.
Despite all of that, ex-Manchester United right back Gary Neville has doubled down on his assertion that his former team will finish second in this year's Premier League, after he and fellow Sky pundit Jamie Carragher were asked to give their mid-season predictions on Monday Night Football.
Gary Neville standing by bold Manchester United prediction.
Arsenal and Manchester United played out one of the games of the season on Sunday afternoon, in a game that harked back to the era of Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson managing the two clubs.
NKETIAH IS THE MAN OF THE MOMENT! 🔥
Arsenal make it 3-2! pic.twitter.com/jn0cvKvWdY— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 22, 2023
Credit was deserved by United for making such an entertaining contest of the game but, ultimately, Arsenal proved to be the better side, and put clear daylight between them and their old rivals in the table.
There is no questioning that Erik Ten Hag has Manchester United on the right track back to the top, and can reasonably hope to claim some cup silverware by the end of the season.
Nonetheless, talk of a title charge always seemed premature, given Ten Hag is only six months into his Old Trafford rebuild. They still have some way to go to catch up to the level of the perennial Manchester City, or Mikel Arteta's Arsenal project - which has been three years in the making.
All of which makes Gary Neville's Monday Night Football prediction all the more baffling. When asked to name their predicted champions, Carragher said Arsenal, while Neville plumped with defending champions Manchester City.
Despite Arsenal now being in the driving seat, this was a somewhat reasonable take from Neville, who backed it up by citing City's past experience in the run-in, and the fact that they do not appear to have hit top gear yet.
It was when he made his call for runners-up that things got contentious.
"You can be wrong with predictions" 😌
"Oh we know" 🤣
Who will finish in the top four? 📊 pic.twitter.com/MO2X3G4zZt— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 23, 2023
It is not a slight on Erik Ten Hag's Manchester United to say that Manchester City and Arsenal remain a level above the rest of the Premier League. Nobody would have expected United to have had the success they have had this season under Ten Hag, and he is still in the early stages of his rebuild.
Neville predicted after last week's Manchester derby win for United that his former club would finish ahead of Arsenal, and he doubled down on this claim on this week's Monday Night Football:
Last week, to be fair, was six points ago, when United could have beaten Crystal Palace and Arsenal with Casemiro in. They might have had a better chance.
Arsenal were far better than Manchester United yesterday, no complaints whatsoever. But they could have been three points behind Arsenal.
I'm still going to stick with my prediction - they're predictions. You can be wrong with predictions.
There will be few at this stage of the season that will agree with Neville's prediction, though the title question remains up in the air, with City and Arsenal yet to play against each other this season.
Jamie Carragher would go on to poke fun at Neville's prediction when the pair went on to call their manager of the season award.
"Do you think he's manager of the year if he finishes third?!" 🤣@Carra23 calling @GNev2 out 😅 pic.twitter.com/BAPOVYAC7D
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 23, 2023
After Neville's earlier prediction that Arsenal would finish in third place, he plumped for Mikel Arteta as his manager of the season. He justified his decision by explaining the weight of Arsenal's potential achievement:
Mikel Arteta has an unbelievable chance to break - all of a sudden, if you win the league with Arsenal, you're in to Barcelona territory. You're in to that sort of "supermanager" territory where you've achieved something magical. It's a massive few months for him.
To be fair, even finishing second I still think he's had the most unbelievable season.
Carragher then jabbed at Neville given the contradiction of his previous prediction, saying "do you think he's manager of the year if he finishes third?!"
After their 3-2 victory over United on Sunday, Arsenal now have a five-point cushion over City at the top of the table, with a game in hand. They remain firm favourites for the title, but Liverpool and Manchester United can both attest to the overwhelming power of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the run in.
For Manchester United, they remain in the FA Cup, League Cup, and Europa League. With their current form, you would have to say they stand a great chance of winning at least one of those trophies this season.
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