Gary Neville has shared his belief that were as good, if not better, last season than the current team which is set to be crowned Premier League champions.

The Gunners have significantly dropped off in the title race, with injuries taking their toll on 's squad. Arsenal sat 16 points behind the league-leading Merseysiders going into .

Arteta's team finished runners-up in each of the last two previous seasons but were much closer to Manchester City, who won the title on both occasions. The Gunners are now facing a fourth consecutive season without silverware .

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And former full-back turned pundit has shared his view that last season's Arsenal team would be champions if they were playing in the current campaign. The 2023/24 team Neville refers to finished the campaign with 89 points, just two off eventual winners City who claimed an unprecedented fourth straight crown.

"Arsenal still should have been closer to them," he told when asked about this season's gap to Liverpool. "Arsenal of last season are as good if not better than the Liverpool of this season, so Arsenal should be neck and neck with Liverpool.

"I know they've had injuries but you've got a plan for that. I mean, Arsenal haven't signed a striker for three years and then now it's woe me about the fact that they haven't got a striker. They've got Havertz up front, they've got Jesus. He doesn't fancy, to be fair, Jesus anyway as a striker.

"Havertz is his only option, and surely you've got a plan in a 55-game season that you're gonna lose a player or two. So the idea that they haven't got backup for Harverts and Jesus is for me not right, and you know they've left themselves short in the transfer window.

"They've signed loads of players to cover for the fact that Saliba was the problem two years ago when they obviously fell away in the last part of the season, so they've signed loads of centre-backs. They then had a problem they reckoned last year with midfield, so they've signed players in that area.

"So for me, they've left themselves short, Arsenal, and it's been through poor recruitment and a little bit of rigidity with the set pieces. If Arsenal had the number of points last season this season, then they would be champions. Arsenal have dropped off this year, and that's something that will cause Mikel Arteta a problem. I think he's done a great job, but he needs to get back to that level that he was last season next season."