Why Gary Neville thinks Man City won't be able to do what Man United did after winning treble

Gary Neville believes defending the Premier League title after winning the treble will prove tougher for Manchester City than it did for Manchester United after their 1999 treble success.

Pep Guardiola's side suffered their second consecutive league defeat at Arsenal on Sunday. Having been beaten by Wolves the weekend prior, the Blues suffered a 1-0 loss at the Emirates thanks to a late Gabriel Martinelli strike.

The defeat leaves City in third position heading into the international break. Guardiola's side had won all of their first six league games before their defeat at Wolves on September 30.

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United know all about the challenge of defending the league title after winning a treble in the previous campaign, having done so successfully in the 1999/2000 season. However, speaking after City's defeat to the Gunners, Neville explained why Guardiola's men will struggle to defend their crown more than United did over two decades ago.

"I tipped them [Arsenal] to win the league because I just thought they were second-best to City and I was imagining some sort of post-treble hangover for City," Neville told Sky Sports. "What's that cause for Manchester City this season?

"You've done everything, you've achieved eutopia in footballing terms by winning the three biggest trophies, and then you've got to find that reason for going again. What is that reason to go and prove yourselves?

"Of course, they're proud players, they've got great quality, but you just take that one or two per cent off and you just lose something. At the moment, they might have got that warning early enough by losing at Wolves,