Paul Merson expects Arsenal to secure a narrow win when they face Fulham at Craven Cottage this weekend.

The Gunners lost the corresponding fixture last season but Merson believes Mikel Arteta’s side are in the sort of form to get the result they need:

“Fulham are a decent team but I just think Arsenal are on an incredible run and it will be tough to stop them. Let’s not forget that Arsenal lost this fixture last season and that eventually led to them losing the Premier League title
so they will be very careful.”

“Liverpool also have the advantage of playing early this weekend and that puts pressure on Arsenal. You play first and if you get all three points, then it’s a different challenge for the teams chasing you. So this is still a really difficult game.”

What score has Merson predicted?

The Sky Sports pundit believes Arsenal will win 2-1, which is a scoreline that supporters will be satisfied with as it will stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to six matches.

As Merson mentions, the fact that Liverpool play Everton a day before in the Merseyside derby will influence the performance. If the Reds lose, the Gunners could close the gap on the leaders to 4 points and that would be a source of extra motivation.

Fulham v Arsenal – early team news

Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori remain doubts for Sunday’s game against the Cottagers. Neither took part in full training on Friday, although it is believed they were doing some work in the gym.

Speaking after the win over Manchester United, Arteta said he was optimistic that both defenders would be available for the weekend, but that may well be wishful thinking.

Arsenal have two other players sidelined, although neither Ben White nor Takehiro Tomiyasu are expected to return to fitness anytime soon.

Find out who is in Arsenal’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here