Paul Merson has claimed that Arsenal might not be in with a chance of winning the Premier League title again ‘for the next ten years’ after losing to Manchester City on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side were outclassed by the champions of England and Merson spoke about how the gulf in class between the two was ‘huge’ on the night.
Arsenal went into the game knowing that if they won, including their remaining Premier League games, then they would be champions of England once again.
But despite previously holding an eight-point lead over Manchester City, it has now been reduced to just two, with the treble-chasers also having two games in hand.
Reality has probably hit home now for the Arsenal fans that they won’t win the title because they require a major slip-up from their rivals.
If that nightmare does become reality, and Arsenal don’t win the title, Merson questioned when the next chance will come along, as he told Soccer Special on Sky Sports News (26/04/23 at 9:45 pm).
“I thought Arsenal would give it a go,” said Merson. “I thought they would have a chance and knick a draw here. It’s been chalk and cheese.
“The gulf is like, you wouldn’t think this is first v second. You would think this was first vs a middle-of-the-table team. It’s just mind-blowing how far ahead Manchester City are.
“As I said before the game, Arsenal might not be in this position for the next ten years. That’s not an exaggeration. You watch this and you think ‘well, how are they going to finish above Man City next season?’ It’s nailed on nearly impossible for the season they have had.
“I mean, the way it’s going, you look at the fixtures and what Arsenal have got. It could be seven, eight, nine or ten points by the end. The gulf is just huge, it’s just ridiculous.”
STILL A SEASON OF PROGRESSION
If you were told that Arsenal were going to finish second at the start of the season, then their fans would have accepted it and been very happy.
The issue for the Arsenal faithful is that they were in such a commanding position, but they just weren’t able to deliver the points during the really crunch moments.
That’s going to take time to recover from, but they need to still end the season in a strong fashion, win all their remaining matches, and then start the next season in an equally strong fashion because this young side can only get better.
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