EPL Exclusive: Merson backs Arsenal title charge as he predicts Guardiola will quite in June
Amid ongoing close rivalry between Arsenal and Manchester City for the English Premier League crown, former Arsenal player and Sky Sports pundit has tipped the Gunners for success.
The Sky Sports pundit also revealed that Arsenal’s EPL triumph will lead to Pep Guardiola eventually resignation as Manchester City boss.
In his view, Paul Merson says Arsenal will win the Premier League this season and claims that title triumph for Mikel Arteta’s side will force Pep Guardiola quit Manchester City.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
Currently, Arsenal are on the top of EPL log with two points ahead of Guardiola Manchester City, who are second-placed after this weekend. The Gunners raced were quick to hit the top table earlier in the season but experienced some bumps on the road which made them drop some points.
Howbeit, as Mikel Arteta prepares for his sixth anniversary at Arsenal, high hopes are placed on him to end the Gunners’ twenty-one year’s wait for PL trophy.
And, after reports plunged Guardiola’s future into doubt this week – with replacements suggested to have been earmarked – Merson also reckons an Arsenal title win could well spell the end for the Spaniard at the Etihad.
‘It Is Arsenal’s Season
“I think they [Arsenal] win the league,” said Merson. “There are 22 games to go. Their squad is so big and so strong that they win the league, in my opinion. If there were six games to go and I was sitting here and it was two points, then I’d say Man City!
“Man City are not the Man City of old. They’re not the Man City we’ve seen that demolish teams. I used to do Soccer Saturday and watch teams come and get their stomachs tickled, and if they come away two or three nil there, they’re more than pleased.
“It’s not like that anymore. And I think it’s taken its toll on him. I think it’s a lot harder now. I think there’s a lot more. Before he used to coach the team, and then they go out, and they play.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
“I think there’s a lot more to it now. It’s draining. And when you’re the manager, he is, I’m only talking from afar, but his head reminds me of a washing machine. It’s always spinning.
“He’s always thinking of something. I don’t think he ever relaxes, and that takes its toll. And I think if they don’t win it this season, I think he’ll know that that’ll probably be an Arsenal to dominate for a while, and I think he’ll get out while he’s still ahead.
“There are only two sure things in management: you pay your tax you get the sack They’re the two surest things in tax, you get the sack. They’re the two surest things in management, you’ve got to give time.
“You know what Arteta has done. I hear people go, ‘if they don’t win it this year, Arteta has got to go’.
“He’s got the life back in Arsenal. They had no chance of ever winning the league. Would they get in the top four? It was a flick of a coin.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
“They are big, big players now. He’s got rid of everybody, all the trouble, all of them, and he brought life back to the club, and now they are a very good team, that if you finish above Arsenal, you will win the Premier League.”
Chelsea Are Good For Cups, Not League
“(Enzo) Maresca is going, ‘I don’t see the problem’. You were the problem! You started it last week. If he doesn’t come out and say anything, everybody’s just moving along.
“Chelsea are in the semi-final of the cup, fourth in the league, Champions League. Everything’s alright at the moment. It ain’t too bad, but they’re not going to win the league yet.
“They haven’t got a league-winning squad. They’ve got a cup team. The team is a cup squad where it will perform at certain levels so high, but it’s such a young team that it will be up here one week, and then it will be down here.
“When I go and watch Chelsea, they never give you a 90-minute performance. It’ll be 20 minutes of greatness, 25 minutes of ‘wow, where’s that come from?’, and another 15 minutes of greatness.
“It’s never like across the board. So that’s why they’ll do well in the cups. I think they will win a cup, but they won’t win the league over 38 games. The team’s not got enough experience to go the full length.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
“They haven’t bought to win the Premier League, in my opinion. That’s why I don’t think there’ll be a problem if they don’t win the league.
“I think they keep on getting in the top four. They can keep on nicking a player here and there and maybe sell them on, but they have to keep on getting in the top four for Champions League football.
“I don’t think the owners will have the hump for them not winning the Premier League, because the owners haven’t bought to win the Premier League. In my opinion, they’ve bought to be a good cup team, with a solid Premier League position.”
Villa Are Title Pretenders
“Aston Villa are three points behind. If we’re talking today, yeah, they’re in the title race.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
“But we’re talking over the next 22 games. I think Unai Emery would want to win the Europa League. If he got fourth in this Premier League and won that, I think the Villa fans would be happy.
“Villa haven’t won a trophy for 30 years. Yeah, I played at this club. Fortunately, I loved it there. It’s a massive football club.
“They’ve got to win a trophy. If they can win a trophy and finish in the top four, I think they’ve had an amazing season, but the squad is not massive. And if Morgan Rogers gets injured, I would worry for them a little bit.”
Manager Not The Issue At Spurs
“It goes deeper than the managers [at Tottenham]. It’s got to be the players, got to be the players. They’ve had some of the greatest managers of all time at Tottenham, and none of them have been a success.
“And I didn’t like what he [Thomas Frank] said the other week I And I didn’t like what he [Thomas Frank] said the other week. I know the fans get a little bit anxious, and if you’re not 3-0 up in the first 20 minutes, they all start wanting to go mad.
“Their neighbors are doing well, but at the same time, as a manager, you’ve got to understand the shelves as well. When you’re a player there are shelves. Managers have their shelves.
EPL Exclusive: Merson Backs Arsenal Title Charge
“He’s managing a big football club, and that’s no disrespect to Brantford. I’ve been at Brantford when they got beat by Bournemouth, and everybody’s walking around the ground, clapping, and they’re still there.
“That’s not happening at Tottenham. You need to know that when you get in. These Tottenham fans turn up every week, 60,000 every other week, and they haven’t been great for the last how many years, but they turn up.
“You cannot say what you said. I think that on Saturday, if they get beat [by Liverpool], I think Frank will be in trouble.”