Paul Merson says it’s ‘unreal’ to think Arsenal will beat Tottenham

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Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal will clash in the first North London derby of the new season on Sunday.

Manager of Arsenal Unai Emery and Manager of Tottenham Hotspur Mauricio Pochettino

Paul Merson has admitted that it’s ‘unreal’ to think that Arsenal will beat Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend as he backed Unai Emery’s side to win the North London showdown 4-1.

Former Premier League winner Merson has claimed that Tottenham will be ‘ripped to shreds’ against Arsenal, with the game taking place at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

Both teams are going into the match on the back of defeats from the weekend, but Spurs’ is the one that is more shocking because it came against Newcastle.

Speaking on The Debate on Sky Sports Premier League (26/08/2019 at 10:35 pm), Merson explained why it will be a comfortable win for his former club.

“I think Arsenal should expect to win this game, which is unreal really,” Merson told The Debate. “Over the last few years, Tottenham have seemed to be going further away.

“But you weigh this game up at the weekend and you are looking at it thinking ‘Tottenham will be well pleased with a draw here, well pleased’. That’s a game-changer. They [Arsenal’s forward line] will cause Tottenham major problems.

“I think Arsenal will win quite comfortably. 4-1. I think they’ll rip them to shreds. I think Tottenham are struggling, at the moment. If Arsenal get going, I do [think they’ll beat them]. It covered over the cracks the Manchester City game. They had 30 shots on goal. Give Arsenal 30 shots at the weekend.”

Last season, in the Premier League, Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners against their North London rivals, but they did gain revenge by beating them in the EFL Cup.

Given Tottenham’s recent problems, a lot will have to happen for them to turn the screw and produce a performance worthy of winning such a hotly-contested encounter.

In a way, despite the recent off-field talk surrounding Tottenham and their performances on the field of play, this is perhaps the perfect game for them to get that edge back into their game.