Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Man Utd could be ‘a blessing’ for their Premier League title hopes, says Paul Merson

Winning the North London derby was huge for Arsenal, especially when Liverpool dropped points the night before.

It's always important to beat Tottenham, but it was a huge game.

Liverpool play Brentford this weekend and that is a difficult match. I know Arsenal have a tough game against Aston Villa, but if they win and Liverpool draw, they will only have a two-point lead with a game in hand.

How quickly football changes. It's back-to-back draws for Liverpool, and now Arsenal have closed the gap.

The match against Brentford is a must-win for Liverpool. The way they are and have started, there is no room for mistakes. They have to keep winning and go on a crazy run.

When I look back now, the defeat is to Man Utd [in the FA Cup] could be a blessing in disguise for Arsenal. It wasn't a big defeat at the time, but it could turn out well. It will take another match and another week before the players are rested.

It will be difficult, but they have to keep winning and hope Liverpool make a mistake.

Everyone knows that Arsenal need a striker

This reminds me of a time during the Arsene Wenger era. Every Arsenal player, pundit and fan knew they needed a centre-back and they didn't go out and get one.

I hope Mikel Arteta doesn't think like that. Everyone knows they need an attacker. They need to freshen up, they don't need to play right away, but they do need that extra body.

You've seen it with Manchester City and Julian Alvarez, what a huge miss he has been. Arsenal need that extra kick because they are in this title race, there is no doubt about that.

The positive thing is, Arteta will think, if they keep making chances, they will score goals. The problem is, if they go to Fulham and Brighton, will Arsenal have that player who has two chances and scores one goal? I don't think they do and that's the problem.

If they have 25 shots in the game, they'll score one or two. The problem is in the games that are close.

In last week's Carabao Cup match, Newcastle barely got a kick in, but the ball fell to Isak and it was 1-0. First chance. That's what Arsenal need.

Lewis-Skelly has made an astonishing effort

It's amazing what Myles Lewis-Skelly has done; to get through at a big club like Arsenal and get into the team.

I was lucky enough to do it when I was a kid, but I played against the rest of England – he has to be the best in the world in this position at his age.

You'd think he'd already played a hundred games for Arsenal the way he belonged. It helps to play with the centre-backs next to him, Arsenal are solid.

I can't talk about him enough. For any kid to come through and play for their club in the Premier League, that's a huge achievement. You don't play against England, you play against the rest of the world to get into these teams.

Golf in the classroom between Spurs and Arsenal

The defeat in the North London derby is damaging for Tottenham. They weren't great, and they weren't great against Tamworth, but were good against Liverpool.

There is a divide with Arsenal and Tottenham and it has existed for a long time. They have a lot of players absent and the two centre-backs are huge, especially Van de Ven.

If you take out Gabriel and Saliba, Arsenal won't win many football games. There is a bit of an excuse for Tottenham. It's rare that you win anything without good defenders.

Moyes has made no difference at Everton

I'm a big fan of David Moyes, but when he came in I thought there was no difference. It's like-for-like.

Everton had no players to come in. It was the same as usual [against Aston Villa]. They can't open a game because they don't score enough goals, and they have to keep it up every week.

They may continue to exist just because they are at fault. Leicester can't win a game and Wolves' bubble has burst, but it will be difficult.

Transfer Center LIVE! Deals, rumors, news on your phone 📱

The January transfer window is OPEN!

Follow the latest deals, news and rumors in the 'Transfers' section of the Sky Sports app!

Looking for news about YOUR club? Find dedicated transfer pages for ANY Premier League team.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *