Paul Merson reveals where he thinks Arsenal will finish next season if they don’t make major summer changes.
Paul Merson reckons that Arsenal will finish below the top four again next season if Mikel Arteta isn’t supported to make a major overhaul of his squad.
Arsenal hasn’t played in the Champions League since the 2016/2017 season and they have also struggled to get back into a European place this season.
They hoped to return to the Champions League by winning the Europa League but they have just been eliminated from the competition.
Their 1-0 win over West Ham today has helped their cause but Paul Merson believes the team will struggle again next season unless they allow Mikel Arteta to sign his players.
He admitted that the Spaniard has made the team better but added that if they fail to make more signings, they will finish next season eighth in the Premier League table, at best.
‘Unless Mikel Arteta gets some players in and out of Arsenal this summer this team is going to finish seventh or eighth next season,’ Merson told Starsport.
‘I’m not surprised Mesut Ozil’s agent says he’s not going anywhere though. Where can he go on that money? ‘If he was on £50,000-a-week everybody would be trying to sign him but because he’s on £350,000 everyone hates him.
‘Arteta needs to get players out though, and I don’t think he’ll be too upset that Sokratis says he’ll go if he’s not playing enough. ‘I like players who are honest like that to be fair to him. It’s better than being prepared to just sit around picking up your money. ‘Arsenal need to get their wage bill down and get rid of players who don’t have a future there. So Sokratis is expendable.
‘But I hope Arteta gets to bring in a few too because he hasn’t really got his own players there yet. ‘He will need a good pre-season and some new signings but I can see progress already even though they went out of the Europa League.’
It really is gloomy for some but as things stand today, European football next season is definitely in reach, there is a core group of younger players that will come on massively and there will be some money to spend in the summer. It could be a lot worse.
This is not a club that needs a “major overhaul” in the summer. Holding will get fit, Saliba will come on, Mari looks a good option, and Chambers will be back eventually. Mustafi can be moved on, and Luiz and Sokratis are going to decline but can still play at CB next year. Tierney and Bellerin should be fit, with Kolasinac and Maitland-Niles or Soares as backups. Saka can play on the wing, as can Pepe and Nelson. We have a ridiculous number of strikers. OK, we do need a top MF or two to augment/upgrade our ball movement and break up play. Leno is superb.
Let Arteta keep working with these guys. They’re buying into his program. A few additions will get us back into the top four. Stan Kroenke isn’t going to spring for world class established talent anyway.
You are spot on. Barca & United has spent a lot of money of late but their players have been flops. There is also a risk in buying which is not seen by many people.
1 Liverpool 6 5 0 1 12 6 +6 15
2 Man City 6 4 1 1 12 5 +7 13
3 Arsenal 6 3 3 0 11 5 +6 12
1 Liverpool 10 9 0 1 19 7 +12 27
2 Man City 10 7 1 2 21 10 +11 22
3 Everton 10 5 3 2 17 13 +4 18
4 Man Utd 10 5 2 3 16 8 +8 17
5 Arsenal 10 4 5 1 16 9 +7 17
Under Arteta in the past six games we are third and in the last 10 games we are 5th. Yes, there are some weak teams there, but other teams also face similar opposition, and in the current EPL there are no walk over teams.
One key issue for Arteta is the lack of a tall, holding, target man for Ozil’s talents. Ozil is a 3D #10 who fed the likes of CR7 and Giroud. You can see that Chelsea is learning the importance of Giroud. Such a player is also important in set piece defense with Arsenal weak in the 3D game in general.
There are other areas to worry, but if can find a way to make the aerial game better, it would make the rest of the attack less predictable.
paul merson please shut up …. you idiot ….
Carl, what did Paul Merson state that is not a true assessment of the future of Arsenal, if Arteta is not supported by the Board in the summer transfer market?
Rather than appearing an “idiot”, what he is saying is obvious to anyone who follows Arsenal.