Former Arsenal star Paul Merson is now making a living as a pundit, and that inevitably means he will be giving his opinion on the big Premier League games each weekend.
Usually, he is rather bullish about Arsenal’s prospects, as anyone who listens to him will know. However, that is not the case this weekend in relation to the Chelsea v Arsenal clash.
The former Gunner is of the opinion that the game is headed for a draw, but in all fairness, he did lean towards Arsenal if he was forced to come off the fence.
Merson told Sportskeeda
‘With Chelsea, you don’t know what the team is going to be, but I know what their midfield looks like – Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, and Conor Gallagher. I expect Sterling to play on the right because he can cause Zinchenko problems.
‘The only problem for Chelsea is that Arsenal are a polished team. Chelsea are just starting out, and that’s a big disadvantage for them this weekend.
‘Arsenal are a settled unit and they know exactly what they’re doing. Chelsea are a hard team to predict – against teams that come out and play, they can be a major threat. The best game Chelsea have played at home this season was against Liverpool.
‘Chelsea had built up some good momentum before the international break, and a lot depends on how they come back from the break. I’m going to go with a draw here, but if you asked me to get off the fence, I’d pick Arsenal to have the upper hand.’
Just Arsenal Opinion
It is unusual for Merson to be cautious when it comes to Arsenal, he does tend to go a bit over the top. To be honest, I do not agree with his assessment.
I understand that Chelsea has bounced back into form, but that was against some really poor opposition. The truth is, Arsenal has better players and a much better recent record at Stamford Bridge.
Perhaps Merson has decided to take a calmer approach after his rant ahead of the Arsenal vs. Tottenham match, where he made himself look a little silly.