Paul Merson, a sports commentator for Sky Sports, has offered his opinion on Liverpool and Arsenal’s chances of challenging Manchester City for the Premier League championship.
Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League have been assessed by Paul Merson, who has already eliminated one team from the title battle.
The Reds are only two points behind early leaders Manchester City after winning four of their first five games. The early stages of the season have seen Jurgen Klopp’s team overcome a number of challenges, displaying a tenacity that may not have been present at the beginning of the previous campaign.
Liverpool missed out on the Champions League last season after a slow start that forced them to play catch-up, despite eventually returning to their best. In three of the last five seasons, the club has gone up against Man City for the championship, and they appear to be on track to accomplish so with a new-look team. Arsenal was tasked with upsetting Pep Guardiola’s team’s hegemony last year.
Paul Merson, a former midfielder for Arsenal, has cautioned that either team cannot afford to make mistakes or risk being eliminated from the title race before Christmas. The analyst told Sky Sports that he has discovered an issue that would jeopardize Liverpool’s chances of once more contending for the Premier League.
Liverpool and Arsenal are the only teams that can challenge Manchester City this year, according to Merson.
“Liverpool were awful against Wolves in the first half. But they resurfaced in the second half and destroyed Wolves. You can’t be doing that against the better teams, which is the issue. The game would be done in the first half if you went to the Emirates or the Etihad and played like that.
“You simply need to support Manchester City for as long as you can. You need to keep them at least three points away from you in every game.
“Manchester United, for instance, is already nine points behind. They’ve completed it. Merson added, “Done. They are unable to win the league because Man City is in it. You may say, “Oh, if you put a run together, you never know,” if it’s any other team. However, City is not losing four or five games in a row”.
With one tie in each of their five games, Liverpool and Arsenal both have 13 points as of right now. Merson, however, has cautioned his old team that following the Gunners’ next three league games, which include hosting neighborhood rivals Spurs and Man City, they may soon find themselves facing a mountain to climb.
The championship race used to begin in December or January, and the winner was determined by who had the best run after that. Man City have now completely destroyed it. You cannot slack off,” Merson added.
“By the beginning of October, [Arsenal] will be eliminated from the title fight if they lose to Tottenham and Man City.
According to Jamie Carragher, Brighton figured exactly how to defeat Manchester United. How you defeat Man City is now the key. The objective for everyone is that.