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Merson is concerned about Arsenal | Manchester United via Getty Imag
Paul Merson has been speaking after Arsenal’s collapse at Wolves on Wednesday night.
Paul Merson was worried by what he saw from Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s hugely frustrating draw with bottom club Wolves on Wednesday night. The Gunners led by two goals but they were left stunned when the Midlands side hammered home an equaliser deep into stoppage time.
The result means Arsenal now only move five points clear of Manchester City having played a game more, and when Pep Guardiola’s men eventually play their game in hand, they will have the chance to move within two points if nothing changes between now and then.
Then comes a date with Chelsea and games against Brighton and Everton before the Carabao Cup final with Manchester City. Arsenal have been in good form overall, but they have been a little more clumsy in the last few weeks, and with Manchester City in superb form, there are now concerns from supporters that the title bid is unravelling.
As cited by Football365, Paul Merson has had his say on the situation after that Wolves draw, and his attention was drawn to Arteta and what the Gunners boss said after the game.
“Manchester City now have Newcastle and Leeds and you’d take that over Tottenham and Chelsea,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be in Arsenal’s shoes if it [miss out on the title] happens again. I was quite shocked by Mikel Arteta’s post-match interview then. It’s the first time, really, that I’ve seen him not majorly positive.
“Usually, he comes out, ‘We’ve done this, we’ve done that’, and he’ll be saying, ‘Oh, we deserved it here, they deserved it here’. Instead of coming out saying, ‘We’re five points clear, as long as we don’t get beaten by Manchester City, we win the league’, but it wasn’t like that, though.
“I was a bit worried with that interview. You can only do so much to the team and when you’re watching that, there’s something missing. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something missing. Something is missing and I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes if they don’t win the league this year.”
Despite the draw, Arsenal do still have a firm grip on top spot, with City still realistically needing to win almost all of their games while hope Arsenal slip up. Crucially, though, the two teams do still have to play each other in mid-April, and that could be a defining fixture.
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