Arsenal were beaten by Bournemouth at the Emirates as they opened the door for Manchester City and Paul Merson insists they need to keep their head down in the coming days
Paul Merson admits the outside noise will ramp up following Arsenal’s loss(Image: Sky Sports)
Paul Merson has told the Arsenal players to avoid all of the reaction to their Bournemouth loss with growing concerns they could collapse after the Premier League title race was blown wide open.
The Gunners’ poor run continued on Saturday as they were shocked at home by the Cherries, who extended their unbeaten run to 12 games. Alex Scott came up with a second-half winner that has put Manchester City in control of their own destiny.
Arsenal have sat top for the majority of the season but have lost three of their last four games. That has seen them miss out on the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup whilst their league ambitions are now being questioned.
Mikel Arteta’s side let leads at the top slip in 2023 and 2024, being overhauled by City on both occasions. Now the Manchester outfit could again take charge if they win their games in hand and see off Arsenal next week – leading to talk of another collapse.
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Merson said on Sky Sports on their confidence: “It will have been smashed it to pieces. Now all of a sudden, if Man City win all their games, they’re level on points. Plus they’ve got two games to make the goal difference up. This is now, you’ve got to keep away from the press, the papers and social media because everybody will be saying ‘here comes the melt’.
“That is a terrible, terrible result today. Bad performance as well. No energy, no ‘let’s go and take the game to Bournemouth, it was sloppy.”
City face Chelsea on Sunday before taking on Arsenal the following week at the Etihad – a venue Arteta has never won at as Gunners boss. Days later they face Championship-bound Burnley and wins in all three games could see them go top on goal difference. Merson though has backed the Blues to stop City winning when they face off at Stamford Bridge.
Pep Guardiola’s side were sensational when they beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, producing a dominant display in the second-half. In their next outing they hammered Liverpool 4-0 to make the last four of the FA Cup, whilst Arsenal themselves were shocked by Southampton.
Arsenal, for all their progress under Arteta, have continued to cop flack for failing to land any silverware. Their FA Cup success in 2020 remains their most recent trophy and they’ve continued to miss out when well placed in competitions.
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