Merson predicts Chelsea win

Former Arsenal hero Paul Merson regrets that he can’t see anything but a Chelsea win when they meet his old side today.

Merson also believes that last week’s shock home defeat to West Brom shows that Arsène Wenger’s side lack the consistency to win the league.

The former Gunners midfielder has particular concerns about the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal.

He said: “They don’t have a good enough goalkeeper to win the league either, but that’s not Manuel Almunia’s fault, it’s the manager’s fault.

“They need a goalie, simple as that. If you go through history and look at any team that has won a title in England or around the world, they all have a top-drawer goalie.”

Chelsea also lost their first game of the season last week at the hands of Manchester City, but Merson is backing them to face an easier task at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

He said: “You have to give credit to City. They got their tactics right and stopped Chelsea playing, but it will be very different on Sunday. Arsenal don’t know how to play a containing game like City did.

“Arsenal will dominate possession like they have in the last few meetings between these sides. They were outstanding for the first 20-25 minutes at home to Chelsea last year – and then got blown away. They also had more of the ball at Stamford Bridge and got beaten.

“Chelsea aren’t fussed about letting Arsenal have the ball. They are superb at defending and will allow Arsenal to play in front of them before hitting them.

“I think that will be the case again on Sunday. Chelsea are just too powerful and strong for this Arsenal side.”