Ex-Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson expects his former club to secure the three points when they take on London rivals Chelsea this weekend.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said the win is important to ensure they qualify for the Champions League, with the Gunners now so far off top spot:
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“Arsenal need to win this game. A defeat to Chelsea would pull the Gunners back into the race to finish in the top four. They are now 15 points behind Liverpool and just eight points ahead of Manchester City in fifth place. Another loss and you would have to start worrying about them finishing inside the top four and I can’t believe I’m saying that!”
“Chelsea are a better team when Cole Palmer is firing, but without [Nicolas] Jackson he has struggled. I expect Palmer to find more space to operate in during this game, but I’m not sure Chelsea have enough to trouble Arsenal. [Raheem] Sterling is not eligible to play against his parent club, so I expect Mikel Merino to continue in attack. I’m not a big fan of the midfielder playing there, but what else can Arsenal do now?”
What score has Merson predicted?
The Sky Sports pundit has gone with a 2-0 win to Mikel Arteta’s side, which is a scoreline that every supporter will be happy with.
Chelsea will be tricky opponents, but their record away from home this season in the Premier League is pretty average. They have won 6, drawn 3 and lost 5. For that reason, Arsenal should be the favourites, considering they have lost just once at the Emirates all season.
Arsenal v Chelsea team news
Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Kai Havertz (hamstring) and Gabriel Jesus (ACL) are all unavailable for this fixture. As Merson mentions, Raheem Sterling is ineligible.
The Blues, meanwhile, will be without Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu due to hamstring problems, while Malo Gusto (leg) is a doubt. Mykhailo Mudryk is banned after a failed drugs test.
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