Paul Merson has explained why he believes injuries are what have damaged Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League title this season.
The Gunners were handed a major blow in their hopes of winning the title this term at the weekend with their defeat at the hands of West Ham. The loss was compounded by Liverpool beating Manchester City 24 hours later to extend their lead at the top of the table to 11 points, having played one game more.
Mikel Arteta has been forced to manage his Arsenal squad carefully this season due to several injury concerns. The Gunners were without Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus for the defeat to the Hammers on Saturday and will now prepare to face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.
Merson has explained why Arsenal will manage to close the gap on Liverpool in the Premier League table but believes the title will head to Anfield. The former Gunners star went on to admit he was “flabbergasted” by one recent decision by Arteta.
“They [Arsenal] are not far off Liverpool long term,” Merson told Sky Sports. “Arsenal have got massive injuries. You take them three players out. I mean, I look at it on Saturday.
“You’d probably take the front three of West Ham on Saturday over Arsenal’s front three. This week, this Wednesday, you 100 per cent take the front three at [Nottingham] Forest.
“They’d all get into the Arsenal team this week, this midweek. All of them and this is where it is. They have bad injuries.
“They’re [Arsenal] not a million miles behind Liverpool. There’s hardly anything in it. When you’ve got those kinds of injuries, it’s just difficult.
“If they had [Bukayo] Saka, [Kai] Havertz and [Gabriel] Martinelli as their front three, the gap would be a lot shorter than what it is now. There’s no getting away from that.
“I was flabbergasted [Mike] Merino started up front again, you’ve got to play [Raheem] Sterling. I know Sterling hasn’t pulled up any trees. Liverpool will win the league, but the gap will close.”
Merson added: “So, I don’t think Arsenal have to do much. I think Liverpool have to try and do what they’ve got to do. I wouldn’t be worried about Arsenal. Arsenal have missed out because they’ve been injured.”
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