Paul Merson claims Arsenal haven’t ‘worked their socks off’ for 90 minutes in 10 years

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Arsenal will be looking to secure their first win under Mikel Arteta when they take on Manchester United on New Year’s Day.

Paul Merson has praised Mikel Arteta for making Arsenal seemingly unrecognisable during their defeat to Chelsea over the weekend.

The Sky Sports pundit claimed that Arsenal ‘worked their socks off’ during the first 45 minutes, but they weren’t able to continue that because they ‘haven’t done if for 10 years’ over a 90 minute period.

Whilst Arteta was unable to put three points on the board, there does seem to be a direction he wants to go and it is showing, albeit in glimpses at the moment, on the pitch.

Former Premier League winner, Merson, praised Arteta for the early work he had done at Arsenal, as he shared what he has liked about what he was seeing against Chelsea.

“For the first half against Chelsea, it didn’t look like Arsene Wenger was in charge,” Merson told Sky Sports. “And that’s the biggest compliment I can give. They worked their socks off but were never going to keep that up for 90 minutes because they haven’t done that in 10 years. That high pressure, closing down, Chelsea couldn’t get out or put two or three passes together.

“You looked at Arsenal in that first half and thought: ‘Well this is Arteta’s team’. He’d got them closing down. But obviously, they were going to fade. Chelsea took advantage of that, and fair play to them.

“As time goes on, however, and Arteta’s looks to place his stamp on the team, there are some bright sparks to take. The fitter they get, and the more they understand that closing-down game, I think they’ll be alright, and I was quite impressed.”

Arsenal are sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table and are paying the price for their woeful start under the now-sacked Unai Emery.

Whilst the North London club need Champions League football, Arteta’s first job is to just add confidence and a winning feeling back into the squad.

On New Year’s Day, Arsenal will take on Manchester United on home soil, and whilst this fixture doesn’t have the oomph it once had, winning against United will provide a massive confidence-booster to Arteta and his players.