After Gary Neville compared his 1995/96 title win to Arsenal’s battles this season, Alan Shearer was eager to banish comparisons between title races in the nineties and now.
Arsenal fans really weren’t happy with Neville after his post-match comments in reaction to the Gunners’ 2-1 win over Chelsea to go five points clear.
The Sky Sports pundit shared his concern about the pressure external noise is putting on Arsenal in the title race, which fans found ironic given that Neville has been a primary source of such noise.
Sure, pressure is mounting on Arsenal in the title race, but it was confusing to hear negative comments after a statement derby win.
That’s why some Gooners might view Alan Shearer’s assessment of the game and the title race as a breath of fresh air.
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Alan Shearer appeared to respond to Gary Neville’s claim about Arsenal in the Premier League title race
If you are unaware of what Neville said to rouse Arsenal fans after the Chelsea win, this is the sentence that caused debate:
“I have to say that the first title that I won was 1995/96, and it was a challenging experience; your legs start to get heavy towards the end, and you start to read every headline. You can’t escape it; the noise is constant.”
It was interesting to then hear Shearer’s take on The Rest Is Football podcast, sharing his experience of winning the title in 1994/95 with Blackburn Rovers.
“I’ve been there myself. It’s a huge ask, it’s tough mentally and physically,” he said, before seemingly disagreeing with Neville’s need to compare.
“It drains you because, I don’t care who or what you are, wherever you are, it’s worse now than it was back in the 90s.
“When we won it for the first time at Blackburn, because of the noise around social media, we didn’t really have that, and it was tough then.”
I love that Alan Shearer’s view of Arsenal differs from the masses
What I find most difficult about following Arsenal in the title race is that nothing is ever enough to satisfy certain pundits.
Arsenal fans…who do you think is the happier manager right now? Pep Guardiola, or Mikel Arteta?
For example, Arsenal beat their rivals 2-1 in the derby, but because they won by two set-pieces in a lacklustre performance, it’s a problem.
Shearer ousted that narrative, too.
“They weren’t brilliant, but the set pieces have done it for them again, and there’s nothing wrong with that. They’re going to be nervy, they’re going to, they’re going to be edgy. That’s because of the pressure that they’re under; they’re human.”
Shearer not only diffused the entitlement that comes from former Premier League title winners commenting on the title race today, but he also said what nobody else has.
It’s very easy to say Arsenal are over-reliant on set-play and that they don’t have the experience to beat Man City to the title, but the easy narrative is quite frankly boring now.
Shearer’s assessment should be celebrated, as after a derby win to go five points clear, the discourse should be positive, shouldn’t it?
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