Paul Merson has revealed his prediction for Arsenal’s next game against Crystal Palace, after the Gunners crashed out of the Europa League last night,
Arsenal still remain top of the Premier League but will need to pick themselves up after a deflating Europa League exit last night following their defeat on penalties to Sporting at the Emirates Stadium.
With Manchester City playing in the FA Cup this weekend, Arsenal will move eight points clear of Pep Guardiola’s side if they beat Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
An eight point lead going into April, with 10 games remaining would represent a significant lead in the title race and the former Arsenal man cannot see the Gunners slipping up.
Despite last night’s disappointing defeat, Mikel Arteta’s side have won their last five games in the Premier League and are looking to make it six wins in a row this weekend which would make it their longest winning run all season.
Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have only won one game since the World Cup break and sacked Gunners legend Patrick Vieira today following their dismal run.
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Paul Merson speaking on the game this weekend:
“I’m going for an Arsenal win all day long – pick a scoreline!
I’ve always said this and I firmly believe it matters who plays first in terms of the title race. Manchester City are in the FA Cup, so if Arsenal manage to win this week, they can go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
City will have games in hand, but Arsenal need to do whatever they can to put pressure on Pep Guardiola’s side as we enter the business end of the season. People keep saying Arsenal have hard games between now and the end of the season, but I look at Manchester City’s run-in and it doesn’t look a whole lot easier.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, are already in a relegation battle, but the good thing for them is that there’s too much traffic between them and the bottom three.”
Paul Merson goes on to speak about who he thinks Arsenal’s standout performer is so far this season & with the Gunners playing as well as they are, it wasn’t an easy decision…
“As for Arsenal’s standout performer this season, it’s between Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, for me. The Arsenal captain has led from the front and produced the goods consistently, while Saka has scored some big goals for Mikel Arteta.
I like players who show up in big games to score the opening goal or the winner and Saka has done exactly that this season.
Leandro Trossard is another player I’ve been really impressed by – what an unbelievable signing he’s turning out to be for £28 million. He ticks many boxes and I think he’ll get into the Manchester City team tomorrow.”
Paul Merson’s score prediciton: Arsenal 3-0 Crystal Palace.
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