Paul Merson does not believe that Arsenal will be able to take any points off Manchester City when they face them at the Emirates this afternoon.

The Sky Sports pundit says that, while his former club are putting in some good performances recently, Pep Guardiola’s side are simply playing too well for the Gunners to cope:

“Arsenal are playing well at the moment but Manchester City are on another planet, so anything other than a win for the away side will come as a huge surprise to me. Arsenal always beat the so-called lesser teams and struggle badly against the big boys – this Premier League encounter looks like it could head in the same direction. I expect the Manchester City juggernaut to roll on.”

Merson has gone with a 3-1 victory to City which, on current form, is hard to argue with. The Citizens have won ten league matches in a row, having scored 18 goals in their last four.

While Arsenal have been performing well, they will need an extra gear if they want to get anything out of this match. That is not beyond the realms of possibility but, as Merson points out, the club’s record against the big boys this season is woeful.

Hopefully, Arteta’s men can catch their opponents on an off-day, but there is no hiding from the fact that it will be an uphill battle.