Gary Neville: Arsenal answered big questions over title credentials

Gary Neville felt Arsenal answered questions about their mentality and their defensive resilience as they held champions Manchester City to a goalless draw in a tight game at the Etihad Stadium.

Arsenal limited Pep Guardiola's side to a solitary shot on target, becoming the first team to keep a clean sheet at the Etihad since 2021 and ending a 57-game City scoring run at home.

Their defensive display bore sharp contrast to their dire performance at the same ground last season, when City seized control of the title race with a dominant 4-1 win.

William Saliba missed that game through injury, but the Frenchman was described as a "giant on the pitch" by Neville as he named him player of the match on Sunday.

According to the Sky Sports pundit, Saliba's performance underlined how much he was missed during last year's run-in and proved the Gunners are now stronger contenders, despite sitting two points behind leaders Liverpool, who beat Brighton in the earlier game.

"I think they answered two big questions today," Neville said on Sky Sports. "One is on their mentality. Could they live in a big game against Manchester City?

"They folded here last year and they were all over the place, whereas today they withstood a lot of pressure and looked like a team that could go through a title challenge and have a lot more mental strength.

"That's a big question answered, because it's difficult to come here.

"The other one is on the defensive side of things. Last year, it was suggested that without Saliba they were harmed, and that's been proven today.

"Saliba was immense, there's no doubt about that. So was Gabriel.

"But for me, the work ethic of the two wide players and the two forwards was also incredible."

For a third consecutive game against