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Arsenal face a crucial North London derby this weekend at White Hart Lane, where the Gunners will be seeking victory to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.
They tackle a Tottenham side who still have outside hope of winning the Premier League title, as they trail Chelsea by seven points but boast an incredible 14 point lead over the Gunners- and extending that advantage to 17 points this weekend would see them all but secure their first finish above Arsene Wenger’s side in over two decades.
Whilst Arsenal have fought back from woeful form, including a victory over Manchester City that sealed their place in the FA Cup final next month, former Arsenal defender Paul Merson believes the Gunners will lose this weekend.
In his predictions for Sky Sports, Merson said:
“Credit to Arsenal for that performance in the FA Cup semi-final against Man City. I didn’t see it coming. But I cannot bring myself to back them to beat Tottenham on Sunday. I weigh it up and think, where do Arsenal win this game?”
“Alexis Sanchez needs the match of his life, Mesut Ozil needs to have an unbelievable performance, and it needs to go their way on the day.”
“Spurs maybe felt they just had to turn up at Palace and I think Big Sam’s team shocked them a little bit. They must have got a rollocking at half-time, Mamadou Sakho then got injured and Mauricio Pochettino took off his holding midfielders.”
“In the end, they deserved to win and it was a massive three points. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m going 3-1 to Spurs this weekend. There’s a long way to go in this title race.”
Defeat for Arsenal would open the door for Liverpool to move nine points clear of the Gunners, although Arsenal would remain with two games in hand, whilst they could also find themselves eight points behind Manchester City in fourth.
Whilst the games in hand are crucial for Arsene Wenger’s side, they’ll count for nothing if they can’t take points off their rivals this weekend and in the following clash with Manchester United.
