Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville believes Manchester City have what it takes to challenge Arsenal for the Premier League title after their late splurge in the transfer market.
After failing to beat Arsenal to the Premier League title last season, City embarked on a new era without legendary manager Pep Guardiola.
Enzo Maresca has come in and laid down an early marker, although things looked grim after City’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield.
It became clear that City needed more depth in midfield and they spent around £250 million late in the transfer window.
Neville believes those additions have given City a much better chance of challenging Arsenal.
“There was a point probably two or three weeks before the end of the transfer window when City didn’t have Ayyoub Bouaddi, Enzo Fernandez and Iliman Ndiaye that you thought they look well short, particularly in midfield,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“They get those three in late on which is £250m worth of business I think and it’s transformed the look of the team.”
City and Arsenal have made perfect starts to the new Premier League campaign, winning their first four matches.
Maresca’s side picked up a controversial 1-0 victory over fierce rivals Manchester United over the weekend to maintain their perfect start.
However, Neville believes City’s title hopes could depend on whether they can avoid injury, especially in defence.
“And I think the big thing for City is it’s going to come down to the defence,” he added. “It’s going to come down to (Ruben) Dias being fit. It’s going to come down to (Josko) Gvardiol being fit.
“If they don’t pick up injuries, they can give Arsenal a real run. I still think Arsenal are better, but City have improved enormously with the signings they made at the end of the window.”
