Gary Neville expects Arsenal to go on to clinch the Premier League title but says it does not feel like ‘their time’ to win the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta’s side took a giant stride towards winning their first Premier League since 2004 with a dramatic 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday.
Attempting to respond to Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Brentford the previous day, it looked as though Arsenal would drop points in east London before Leandro Trossard’s late goal.
West Ham, desperately fighting for their Premier League status, thought they scored an injury-time equaliser but Callum Wilson’s goal was ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.
Arsenal’s win leaves them five points clear of Man City with two matches remaining, though Pep Guardiola’s team have a game in hand as they look to reel in the Gunners.
Neville cannot see Arsenal failing to win the Premier League from this position but has more doubts about their Champions League credentials as they prepare to face holders PSG in the final.
The north Londoners beat Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals to reach their first Champions League final since 2006, while PSG continued their title defence with a narrow win over Bayern Munich.
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‘Arsenal have got such momentum now,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast. ‘They beat Atletico Madrid, watched Man City drop points at Everton and then winning at West Ham in that way.
‘Winning it that way is far more special that winning the game 3-0, you’d love to win games easily but those type of results build confidence, resilience and momentum.
‘The Arsenal players should be in dreamland now, they should be unstoppable, nothing should be able to stop them now.
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‘In the Champions League final they need to think about their defensive ability and strength and think how they can over 90 minutes beat a team who are better than them.
‘Because PSG are better than them, you can’t get away from that. PSG are a better team than Arsenal right now and they’ve demonstrated that over the last two seasons.
‘For Mikel Arteta it’s a chance to go to another level because winning the Champions League would be incredible.
‘Winning the Premier League for the first time in 22 years is huge but getting the Champions League as well would be incredible.
‘It feels like the right moment for Arsenal to win the Premier League, it doesn’t quite feel like the right moment for them to win the Champions League.
‘It feels like the moment PSG for win it back-to-back and for Luis Enrique to put himself up there with the God-like managers who have done this.
‘It feels more like that than Arsenal winning the double but it doesn’t really matter, it would still be a sensational season for Arsenal.
‘And if they do win the double, that puts them into a different stratosphere.’
Budapest’s Puskas Arena hosts the 2026 Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain on May 31.
PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in last year’s final, while Arsenal will be contesting their first Champions League final since they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona in 2006.
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