February 8th 2025.
According to former Arsenal player Paul Merson, the Gunners are facing an uphill battle if they have any hopes of winning the Premier League title or the Champions League this season. Merson, who has been vocal about his support for manager Mikel Arteta, believes that sacking him would not be the solution to their current struggles. However, he also predicts that Arsenal will not be lifting any trophies this season.
It has been over a year since Arsenal last won a major trophy, with their last triumph being the 2020 FA Cup. Despite coming close to winning the Premier League in the past two seasons, many believed that this would be the year that the drought would end. However, their recent performances have left fans disappointed. They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester United and suffered a 4-0 aggregate loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semi-final. In the Premier League, they currently trail leaders Liverpool by six points, with the Reds having a game in hand against Everton next week.
While Arsenal have managed to secure a spot in the Champions League last-16, they are not the favorites to win the competition. In fact, some experts are even predicting that Liverpool will go on to win a quadruple this season. Merson, who was disappointed by Arsenal's defeat to Newcastle, has serious doubts about their chances of lifting a trophy this season. He believes that Arteta has missed a golden opportunity to bring silverware to the club.
"They've got two [trophies left to win], one they could be out of by Wednesday night in my opinion," Merson said on Sky Sports. "If Liverpool win at Everton, that'll be nine points clear with 15 odd games left. They'd have to lose four of them which I think would be impossible. To me, it comes down to Wednesday."
Merson had initially believed that Arsenal had a chance in the Champions League, but their performance against Newcastle has changed his mind. He thinks that there are much stronger teams in the competition than Newcastle and that Arsenal will have a tough time going up against them. He also believes that Arteta missed a crucial opportunity to overtake Manchester City and close in on Liverpool in the Premier League title race.
"It all depends how many points they get beaten by in the end if they don't win the league," Merson added. "If they come second again... he's going to stay, I hope people don't think, 'Oh, let's change the manager.'"
In order to have any chance at winning the Premier League, Arsenal will need to be perfect for the rest of the season, starting with their upcoming match against Leicester City. On the other hand, their performances in the Champions League have been impressive, with six wins out of eight in the league phase. Their only loss came against Inter Milan away. They finished third in their group, behind only Liverpool and Barcelona, and will face the winner of either Feyenoord vs AC Milan or Juventus vs PSV Eindhoven in the last-16.
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