In his latest column, Paul Merson reacts to Arsenal’s Champions League defeat to Inter Milan and looks ahead to the upcoming clash against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports on Sunday…
Odegaard has to start vs Chelsea
Arsenal will know how Liverpool and Manchester City get on [on Saturday]. If they both win, I think Martin Odegaard must start [on Sunday]. Ten and nine points is a lot of ground to make up if they both win. The game against Chelsea will be a must win.
Unless he’s not going away with Norway, I think he has to be thrown in.
Arsenal were good against Inter Milan, who are a decent team, but the only thing missing was that guile.
They dominated and should have come away with at least a draw. Arsenal have earned the right around Europe, teams will sit back and they need someone like Odegaard to put the ball through the eye of the needle.
The two refereeing decision were both poor. Mikel Merino was not even a yard away and he can’t defend that with his arms behind his back because he would fall over!
At the other end, Yann Sommer punches his head off. It’s as stonewall as it gets. It is phenomenal how one is a penalty, and one is not.
If it was anywhere else, you would be awarded a free-kick. If you go up to head the ball and the defender heads your head, you will get a free-kick. It is a stonewall penalty.
You have VAR and I can’t see how it is not a penalty. It is worrying at the highest level. You have people who do the job and, looking at that, they clearly have no clue.
Edu leaving a worry for Arsenal?
It will be a big miss and reminds me of David Dein leaving Arsenal. The quality of player they brought in was phenomenal while he was at the club.
Then he left and there were a lot of players who played for Arsenal and were not good enough. We will have to watch this space.
They have bought well in recent years and I hope I’m wrong but it does not look good. It is not a good one. The quality of player changed then and hopefully it is not the same case this time round.
My problem with Amorim to United
First 30 minutes, I thought [Man] City destroyed them [Sporting]. They were outstanding after that. I have met Sporting fans who speak so highly of him [Amorim].
Breaking up Porto and Benfica is a bit like breaking up Rangers and Celtic. My problem is, he plays three at the back. He would have ticked the boxes at Chelsea, but Enzo Maresca has done fantastic.
You look at [Manchester] United and they haven’t got a dominant forward, attacking midfielders, defenders who are quick at the back and do not have wing-backs. There is a lot of work to be done, this change will not happen overnight.
It will take time. He has to bring his players, and they have to go out and not just tick boxes. Will they buy Viktor Gyokeres? They probably will. But £100m is too much. He will want someone like him and I think he will try to get him next season as you need to score goals.
Bruno Fernandes will end up being a No 10 but I worry for people like Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, I don’t know where they will play.
They are not wing-backs. It is one of the hardest positions in football, you have to get up the wing, cross the ball and get back to defend. They call it the graveyard shift in football. It is hard!
Pep will find a way
Pep Guardiola has to find the solution at Man City. They miss Rodri, the one who ticks it along and protects the back four. Mateo Kovacic is good but he is a better runner with the ball but, when he does that, he closes everything in.
Rodri gets it on the half turn and gives the players that will make things happen time on the ball. Without Rodri, it will be difficult.
They will find a way of doing it, but, at the moment, teams have to make hay while the sun shines! This patch of form won’t continue for much longer.
Liverpool are dangerous
People are waiting for the [Liverpool] bubble to burst and it hasn’t!
I did the game last week against Brighton and they were unlucky. Fabian Hurzeler’s side should have gone two up but Liverpool just keep on finding a way. They keep on going and keep winning.
They have goals in the team and they are dangerous. Arne Slot’s side are not going anywhere.
Mings has to bounce back
Tyrone Mings cannot do anything about the handball now.
He can’t turn back time. It is gone now and he has to look at it in a positive way. Over a year ago he was out for a long time, and he came back from a hard injury.
Look at the positives. He didn’t mean to do it; it was just a lapse in concentration. He has to move on and try to get into the team.
Villa can’t win in second gear
Winning away in Europe is hard. Club Brugge have been around a long time and played a lot of European football.
Playing big games on Tuesday and Wednesday then hard ones in the Premier League takes its toll. You don’t understand what Liverpool and Man City have done over the last few years.
When they do have a dip, Unai Emery’s side are not as great a team. They have to stay at eights and nines to secure all three points.
Man City can win games by playing in second and third gear, but that isn’t the case for this Villa side.