Paul Merson has admitted that he ‘would not be surprised’ if Arsenal do not beat Aston Villa this weekend after they lost to Manchester City.
The Gunners are going through a tough patch at the moment as they are three games without a win in the Premier League.
They were beaten 1-0 by Everton at Goodison Park before they were held to a 1-1 draw against Brentford at the Emirates.
Arsenal had their biggest game of the season on Wednesday night as they hosted Man City. Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland scored as Pep Guardiola’s side ran out 3-1 winners.
This result moves Man City back to the top of the Premier League table ahead of this weekend’s fixtures. They are only ahead of Arsenal on goal difference though and the Londoners still have a game in hand over their rivals.
Arsenal will hope to return to winning ways when they travel to face Unai Emery’s Aston Villa this weekend.
Merson has backed the Gunners to win 2-0 but he is aware that they are ‘making mistakes’ and that they ‘looked nervous against Man City’.
‘This is a huge game. This is a must-win match for Arsenal, and they have to bounce back. If they lose or draw this game, I don’t know how they’re going to turn it around. It’s not the worst game in the world for them – I can think of worse places to visit this weekend,’ Merson told Sportskeeda.
‘Aston Villa were doing things right, but they’ve gone bang-wallop-crash all of a sudden and have conceded seven goals in just two games. This game will pit Unai Emery against Arsenal, and he’ll be out to stop them.
‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsenal don’t win this game. They’re making mistakes and they looked nervous against Manchester City. Pep Guardiola was able to bring on Phil Foden in the second half. Arsenal, in contrast, brought on Fabio Vieira.
‘This won’t be like the Everton game. Aston Villa are going to play better football – they’re not going to kick Arsenal around and resort to long balls. This could play into Arsenal’s hands, and I think they should be able to win this game.’
Man City meanwhile are away at Nottingham Forest. Merson feels that the Premier League holders will win 3-0 as Steve Cooper’s side will be ‘tired out in the end’.
‘Manchester City might rest a few players in the Premier League because of next week’s Champions League match (vs RB Leipzig), but Nottingham Forest are a decent team at home,’ Merson added.
‘This is a game where City need to stamp their authority. They can rest their players when they face teams like Bayern Munich later on in the season. They need to play a strong team here.
‘Nottingham Forest will sit back and defend, and they’ve got pace on the counter with Brennan Johnson. I think Man City will tire Forest out in the end, and I don’t see how they don’t win this game.’
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