Gary Neville names the competition Mikel Arteta must ‘risk’ for Arsenal | Football

Gary Neville fears Arsenal’s hopes of winning the Premier League title could hinge on whether Mikel Arteta is prepared to take a ‘calculated risk’ in another compettiion.

The Gunners re-established their five point lead at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more, following Sunday’s nerve-jangling 2-1 win over Chelsea.

Manchester City are breathing down the next of the long-time leaders and look to be hitting form at just the right time of the season as the business end of the campaign arrives.

Neville remains confident Arteta’s side will emerge triumphant but is concerned fixture congestion could ultimately decide their fate.

With Arsenal having enjoyed a favourable draw in the Champions League, reached the final of the Carabo Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they will face Mansfield, talk of the quadruple remains alive.

No English team in history has ever won all four major trophies in a single season and Neville believes something may have to give if Arsenal are to enhance their chances of scooping the most prestigious prizes.

He told Sky Sports: ‘You can’t throw away a Champions League, you can’t throw away a Carabao Cup final, so how Mikel Arteta rotates, how he uses his squad, how he stays clear of injuries is going to important.

‘Arsenal have to in some ways take a calculated risk in the FA Cup. That’s not to disrespect it but you have to look it at and trust your second XI right up to the semi-final.

‘The Carabao Cup final is a one-off game, you have to play your best team. The Champions League you have to play your best team, and obviously in the Premier League.

‘But the FA Cup does give Mikel Arteta a chance to take a risk. That might be the competition they falter in – they’ve got Mansfield in the fifth round so they’ll probably get across the line there, but as it goes through that’ll be the one which might fall by the wayside.’

Arteta, meanwhile, admitted his ‘heart almost stopped’ as Arsenal clung on for dear life in Sunday’s London derby.

Arsenal might have been expected to cruise to the three points after Pedro Neto was sent off, but David Raya had to produce a brilliant diving save from Alejandro Garnacho’s curling effort, and Liam Delap also had a goal chalked off for offside – both in added time – as the Gunners took a significant stride to capturing their first title in 22 years.

And Arteta admitted: ‘The save that he (Raya) made in the last action, from what ended up being an unbelievable shot, I got the right angle and my heart almost stopped. But David’s hand was there to bring it back to life.

‘I try to stay calm, but obviously, we weren’t getting the dominance and the sequences of play that we wanted and would expect against 10 men.

‘You have to navigate through that, and it’s a big part of the game. Everybody’s suffering because the margins are so small.’

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