According to Paul Merson, the minimum number of points Arsenal should pick up in their next two games is four, and he explains why.
Some of Arsenal’s top players are tipped to miss the North London derby this weekend. Declan Rice (due to a red card suspension), as well as the injured Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard, will miss the trip to Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium.
I bet our Gunners, whether they are missing a player or not, are still eager to defeat Spurs. They will then look to kick off the 2024-25 Champions League with a victory over Atalanta before taking on Manchester City next weekend. Overcoming Spurs without their top players, as well as heading to the Etihad and picking up a win over City in a game Odegaard and Merino may miss, is a difficult task.
Even so, Paul Merson believes Arsenal cannot afford to lose to Tottenham or Manchester City. He believes they should aim for four points from these two games, which they can achieve by beating Spurs and not losing to City.
Merson said via Sportskeeda, “Three points from these games are not good enough and I’ll tell you why. If Arsenal beat Spurs and lose to City, it’s no good because City will then move further ahead. If they don’t get a result against Spurs, they’re not going to win at City either.”
The Arsenal legend simply reiterated what we discussed this week: Arsenal’s results in the next two games might determine their fate in the title chase. Manchester City has yet to drop points this season, and it does not appear like they will anytime soon. Arsenal should ensure that the current two-point gap between them does not widen any further. Winners win no matter what, and injuries should not prevent Arsenal from doing so in both these games.
Sam P
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Well, the general consensus on JA before the season started was, I recall, that Arsenal needed a “good start”. These are both tough away games so I guess a minimum of two points wouldn’t be a disaster, but it wouldn’t be great either.
If – worst case scenario – Arsenal lost both games, then I think that would be a blow (points-wise and psychologically) before we even got out of September. Once Pep’s teams (Barcelona through to City) get their noses in front with a reasonable points cushion in a title race, even early on, they don’t tend to lose out come the end of the season.