Paul Merson has predicted Arsenal will lose further ground on Liverpool in the Premier League title race this season.
The Gunners head to Merseyside for a final-ever trip to Goodison Park on Saturday, before Liverpool faces a difficult encounter at Fulham a day later. Arne Slot ’s side holds a 12-point lead at the top of the table with just eight games remaining and Liverpool fans are counting down the weeks until the side can be confirmed champions.
The Reds need 13 more points to secure top spot, but that tally will decrease if Arsenal slips up in the coming weeks. That’s exactly what Merson expects to happen, with the London club likely to prioritize European matters as the title race seems all but wrapped up, while it faces an in-form Everton side whose nine-game unbeaten run came to an end at Anfield on Wednesday.
“This is a hard game for Arsenal,” Merson told Sportskeeda. “They are definitely out of the Premier League title race. Liverpool will now have to lose half their games, while Arsenal win all their remaining matches, for it to change and that is impossible! Mikel Arteta’s men also have the big game against Real Madrid coming up next week.
“I fully believe Arsenal will rest some key players for this game. Look at what happened to Gabriel Magalhaes. They can’t risk any more injuries. I don’t see the point in playing Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice or William Saliba against Everton. If any of the three players get injured, Arsenal shouldn’t even bother turning up for the Real Madrid game!”
Arsenal beat Fulham in midweek with Bukayo Saka netting the winner from the bench as he returned from a four-month layoff. Merson thinks the decision whether to start the winger is one of the biggest pre-match dilemmas for Mikel Arteta as he returns to Goodison.
“Arsenal have a tricky decision to make with respect to Bukayo Saka this weekend. They can either start him or bring him off the bench in the second half. I’d probably start him and play him for 45 or 30 minutes because the speed of the game in the beginning is different to the speed of the game towards the end. If Arsenal play their strongest team, they will win this fixture 1-0. But I have a feeling they will play a weakened XI after the injury to Gabriel and as such, I’m backing Everton to win this.”
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The former Gunner is predicting a 2-1 victory for Everton on Saturday but also thinks Liverpool will drop points at Fulham, with Merson believing that the lack of a natural right-back due to injuries could impact the would-be champions.
“If Conor Bradley was fit, he would’ve started at right-back,” he said. “I have no problem with Curtis Jones, I think he’s a good footballer and deserves to be on the pitch more often for Liverpool. But the problem is Antonee Robinson on that flank. If [Mohamed] Salah is unable to track back and help out, Robinson can trouble Jones a lot.”
Merson is predicting a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage and, coupled with an Arsenal defeat, would leave Liverpool 13 points clear at the top of the table and needing just 10 points across the final seven matches to be crowned champions.
