Ex-Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson is expecting his former club to edge a tight contest when they take on Tottenham on Saturday afternoon.
The Sky Sports pundit feels that Mikel Arteta’s side are in better form heading into the North London derby at the Emirates:
“The way they’re playing at the moment, I don’t see Tottenham being able to beat Arsenal. They did defeat Leicester by a 6-2 margin the other day, but the scoreline flattered them in my opinion…With Manchester City in the title race, both these teams should realistically aim for a top-four finish. Arsenal absolutely dismantled Brentford in their previous game, and their home advantage gives them the upper hand in this match.”
Merson has gone with a 2-1 win for the Gunners, which seems a very fair prediction, considering matches between the two sides are usually decided on the finest of margins.
With Arsenal being at home, though, that should give them a slight advantage, especially as they have started the season so well.
They will, of course, have to be wary of Spurs’s threat on the counter-attack and they won’t want a repeat of the United game, where they dominated possession but managed to lose 3-1.
It could be the case that the match starts pretty cagey, as the two sides try to cancel each other out, but it is a derby so it is really hard to predict how this fixture will pan out.