SHOCK REVEALED: WHY GARY NEVILLE IS OFFICIALLY "DRAWING A LINE" THROUGH ASTON VILLA
Gary Neville rules Aston Villa out of the title race, predicting a two-horse battle between Arsenal and Man City.
Gary Neville thinks the Premier League title is between two teams, counting Aston Villa out. Despite Unai Emery's team being only three points behind Arsenal after 17 games, Neville, who used to play for Manchester United, doesn't think they can win.
Emery's team has won seven straight Premier League games, including one against Arsenal. But Neville thinks Arsenal will win the title this time, even though they were top at Christmas.
Neville says Manchester City is Arsenal's biggest competition for the title. He thinks Pep Guardiola and Erling Haaland are very special and will make it hard for Arsenal.
He also said that if Declan Rice gets injured, it could really hurt Arsenal in the second half of the season. He also thinks it's important for Arsenal to keep playing well in April and May.
"I'm only looking at the top two teams," Neville said after Villa beat Manchester United. Aston Villa is doing well and deserves respect, but they won't win the league.
I'd be shocked if they did. Arsenal and Man City would have to have a lot of problems for Aston Villa to win.
The league is weird, except for the top two. I don't know what to make of the other teams.
Man City is obviously [very good]. They have Erling Haaland, an amazing player on the field, and Pep Guardiola, an amazing coach on the bench.
That's the biggest threat to Arsenal, besides injuries to Rice and a couple of other players. I'm not too worried about Arsenal winning some games by a small margin. It's going to happen this season.
They weren't great at Everton, but were they ever going to be amazing there? I think they're doing well.
It will be interesting to see how they do in March, April, and May.
I think they'll increase their lead in February and March and get a five- or six-point lead again. I think it's their year, even though the other teams are getting closer.
I might be wrong because I know City fans are feeling confident and think they're close and Arsenal will mess it up. But I don't think that will happen this time.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
_1777914166.webp)
Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
Must Read
