Carragher and Neville Both Back Arsenal to Retain Title — SkimNews
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- Both Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville picked Arsenal to win the 2026/27 Premier League, with Neville calling them "way out in front" thanks to strength in depth in defence and midfield, and Carragher ruling out Man City because of Rodri's absence.
- Gary Neville placed Chelsea second, arguing their lack of European football would let them amass points across only 45 games with less injury and mental fatigue; Carragher ranked Man City second instead, followed by Chelsea and Liverpool.
- Carragher predicted all three promoted clubs would be relegated — Ipswich, Hull, and Sunderland — drawing a parallel between Sunderland's underlying numbers and Sheffield United under Chris Wilder; Neville picked Hull, Ipswich, and Coventry.
- Neville named Bruno Guimaraes as Arsenal's impact signing at £75m, saying the midfielder removes Arsenal's one drop-off point when Declan Rice is unavailable, while Carragher chose Mateus Fernandes at Spurs.
- Carragher highlighted Liverpool's Jeremy Jacquet, who has one Premier League appearance, as player to watch; Neville went with Chelsea's £120m Morgan Rogers, saying the fee demands 12-15 goals and 10-12 assists.
- Neville called Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso's season "critical," insisting Alonso must finish second or a strong third without European football or "questions" would follow; Carragher picked Newcastle's Matthias Jaissle as manager to watch.
- Both pundits agreed on Erling Haaland as their top scorer pick.
Why it matters: The only full consensus between the two pundits is Arsenal as champions and Haaland as top scorer — every other category splits. Neville's framework leans heavily on fixture congestion, boosting Chelsea to second because they have no European football and dragging Sunderland toward relegation because their Thursday-Sunday schedule mirrors Sheffield United's collapse under Chris Wilder. Arsenal supporters get the only unanimous backing, while Chelsea, Liverpool, and the promoted clubs each face sharply different forecasts depending on which pundit you trust.
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