Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has predicted that Liverpool will sweep Arsenal aside when the two sides meet at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Reds welcome Arsenal to Merseyside after extending their lead at the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Newcastle, with Manchester City’s loss to Leicester seeing them hold a six-point advantage over second-placed Tottenham.
Unai Emery’s men struggled to a 1-1 draw against Brighton last time out, and former Arsenal star Merson has predicted that they will fall to a 3-0 loss on Saturday.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, he said: “The juggernaut will roll on here. Even when they play games like the other day against Newcastle they still don’t let in a goal. Arsenal’s strengths are scoring goals, but they are coming up against a really, really good defence.
“Look at Man Utd the other day, they are strolling at 3-0 and end up winning 3-1 – it counts in the end. This Liverpool team are just getting clean sheet after clean sheet. Arsenal’s Achilles’ heel is at the back, and with Liverpool’s firepower they will score goals.
“Arsenal struggled at Brighton and were fortunate on many occasion in the unbeaten run – you cannot keep going behind in games and expect to be winning football matches all the time. Arsenal are where I expect them to be.”
OPINION
There is no place for sentiment here for Merson in his prediction for Liverpool v Arsenal. The former Gunners star is quite clearly convinced that they will struggle against the league leaders, and you can see why. The Reds are in fine form at the moment, with Jurgen Klopp’s men easily the best team in the division at the moment. They have so far shown that they have all the hallmarks of a Premier League-winning side, and they will be keen to convert this start into that elusive title. Arsenal on the other hand have also shown improvement this season, but there is still something missing for Unai Emery. Despite their impressive 22-game unbeaten run earlier this term, the Gunners still sit in fifth, and are now 13 points behind leaders Liverpool. They would likely take a draw on Saturday at Anfield, but even that will be tough to secure against the red-hot Reds.