The victory drew Arsenal level with Tottenham at the top of the Premier League, two points above City.
Pep Guardiola’s side pipped Arsenal to the title last term, and completed a treble by winning the FA Cup and Champions League.
But Neville believes there is a ‘hungover’ element to City’s play, and Arsenal can capitalise on that.
‘I think they’ve got a big chance, Arsenal,” Neville told Sky Sports.
‘They’ve got to keep their players fit. They’re 100-per-cent better with Declan Rice in the middle of the pitch, without a shadow of a doubt.
‘You want more from your centre-forwards, and it was hard for both of them [against City], but there’s a question mark over whether that’ll cause them problems in the end.
‘They have to keep Rice fit, the idea of not playing Gabriel Magalhaes at the start of the season was an experiment that won’t happen again. Those two centre-halves – Gabriel and William Saliba – were pivotal against City, they were outstanding playing against the best player in the world in that position [Erling Haaland].
‘To beat City, and give [injured] Bukayo Saka a three-week rest, that could be a really good thing.
‘The two centre-backs and Rice are the most important players to keep fit. They won’t win the league without them.
‘I was worried about the goalkeeper David Raya in the first half. He’s averted a bit of a crisis there. If he conceded a goal from one of those moments, honestly you’ve seen it go badly. Hopefully he’s gone home and reflected, he came out a lot better for the second half – but whatever Arteta said to them at half-time, they all came out better.”
