Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson
Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson
Paul Merson is not confident about Arsenal’s Champions League prospects after they were “frightened” by Brighton before the international break.
Arsenal face Bayern Munich in their latest Champions League group phase match on Wednesday evening, and this will be a big test for Mikel Arteta’s side.
After Arsenal won the Premier League title last season with a defence-first approach, it was hoped that Arteta would let his side off the leash this season, but they continue to play with the handbrake on.
And Merson thinks this is because Arsenal were left “frightened” after the 3-0 loss to Brighton before the international break.
“The defeat to Brighton has scared Arsenal. After winning the league, they came out and played some entertaining football, but then that result happened and they’ve gone back to being an efficient machine,” Merson told Sky Sports.
“It frightened them and they’ve reverted to type. And the type is that they won’t let in any goals, and they’ll make an opportunity to score a goal, and that’s exactly what they did at Nottingham Forest.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game where a team has that much possession and still doesn’t look like scoring a goal in a month of Sundays. It was as bad as it gets.
“It’s unbelievable how you can have that much of the ball and not look like scoring. I used to watch Arsene Wenger’s teams and they would have 30 shots from that amount of play.
“Other teams have seen the blueprint to play against Arsenal: sit back and defend. It’s not hard. It’s not like they’re going to make 20, 30 chances. The wingers don’t go past anybody. No one runs beyond the ball. The ball isn’t being held up. There’s no real movement.
“I was blown away watching their performance against Forest. I know they won by not playing well, and that’s a great sign, but at the same time I thought the shackles would be off this season and they would really start playing. Bruno Guimaraes has got to play in every game. He’s the one who can pass the ball.”
“I can’t see how they beat Bayern Munich this week…”
On the Bayern Munich match, Merson has explained why he cannot see Arsenal beating the Bundesliga giants, and he expects them to come up short in the Champions League too.
“I just can’t see how they beat Bayern Munich this week. If I was Bayern, I’d just open the game up and just say you have a shot, we have a shot because there’ll only be one winner. Can Arsenal outscore teams?” Merson added.
“This is a massive football match. This gives you a marker for where you are in the Champions League, because you just don’t know how strong these leagues are.
“I like Kai Havertz. He’s a good footballer. But when the Bayern Munich centre-halves go to bed, is he giving them a sleepless night? Are they awake worrying that they’re playing against Havertz?
“X factor is what wins a Champions League and I don’t see that at Arsenal. I don’t see Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres as the difference-maker.
“It’s fine when you’re playing against lesser teams, but it’s different when you’re playing against Europe’s big boys. I still see Arsenal winning the league because I just think they just need one goal. I feel Manchester City need two goals every football game to win. Arsenal just need one and they’ll win.”