'They knew' - Gary Neville delivers brutally honest Arsenal verdict amid Liverpool title race

Gary Neville has admitted he has 'little sympathy' for Arsenal being left without a striker for the remainder of the Premier League title race.

Liverpool restored a seven-point lead over the Gunners after battling to a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Arsenal had closed the gap to four points as they earned a 2-0 win at Leicester City.

Arsenal woes

Mikel Arteta's troops saw Mikel Merino come to their rescue as he fired a late double. The midfielder came off the bench and was deployed as a centre-forward to deliver the goods.

That is a tactic that the Gunners may need to repeat in their final 13 league games. Gabriel Jesus is out for the remainder of the campaign with an ACL injury while Kai Havertz suffered a hamstring issue during a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. The Germany international has been forced to undergo surgery and will not play again this term. The North London side also have wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the treatment table.

If Arsenal are to somehow catch Liverpool and win their first title in 21 years then Neville believes that Arteta is going to have to get creative. Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former Manchester United defender said: "They are going to have to come up with something. I've got very little sympathy for Arsenal. They knew at the start of the season they were short at centre-forward. They knew they might be in a position where they didn't have the quality up top.

"They have also had two title races so they know what it's like. This is not an inexperienced team or manager. Could this have been foreseen? Yes. They couldn't get any business done.

"I thought it might be Declan Rice moving forwards and it's ended up being Mikel Merino. Sometimes good can come out of what seems to be bad. You can develop something together. It's going to be tough for Arsenal. They have to find a way, no excuses. They can't feel sorry for themselves and I'm sure Mikel Arteta won't."

Liverpool injury latest

Liverpool are sweating on a key forward ahead of their trip to Aston Villa on Wednesday. Cody Gakpo suffered a knock in last week’s 2-2 draw against Everton in the Merseyside derby. The Netherlands international, who has scored 16 goals in all competitions this season, sat out the victory over Wolves.

Reds head coach Arne Slot admitted that Gakpo is doubtful to face Villa. Speaking at his post-match press conference, Slot said: “He got a knock in the Everton game. A few of us got a knock but he got an injury from that. Under debate. It's fast, Wednesday already, so let's wait and see. It wasn't a soft knock then.”

Liverpool will welcome back Curtis Jones to their squad against Villa after he was forced to serve a one-match suspension following his red card against Everton. Joe Gomez remains unavailable because of a hamstring injury and may need an operation, while Tyler Morton is recovering from shoulder surgery.