Paul Merson says ‘no chance’ Arsenal win title if duo left amid transfer warning to London rivals

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There is going to be a lot of pressure on Mikel Arteta and Arsenal heading into the new season.

You can’t argue that the team hasn’t made improvements, they are now challenging for top honours again after years of struggle.

But there now has to be an end result, even if Arsenal were beaten to the Premier League title by Manchester City on the last day of the previous campaign.

A lot is going to depend on what happens in the transfer market, with one possible deal in the offing for the Gunners.

Sources have told HITC that Arsenal have agreed a fee in principle with Bologna for Riccardo Calafiori.

But Arsenal are dependent on their key players, just like anyone else in the Premier League, as Paul Merson tried to highlight.

Crystal Palace have already sold Michael Olise – HITC reported the Olise to Bayern Munich fee and contract length.

But there is also talk that central defender Marc Guehi could follow suit and that’s where Merson begins to worry for Palace.

The former double-winner made it clear that if Arsenal lost William Saliba and Martin Odegaard, then they would have ‘zero chance’ of becoming champions, as he told Football’s Greatest.

Arsenal without William Saliba and Martin Odegaard

“Then that’s a big miss, a big miss,” said Merson if Palace lost Guehi, after selling Olise.

“That’s like you saying to me, will Arsenal win the league next season, but I am taking Saliba out of the team and Odegaard out? No chance. That’s why them two players. And Eze might go, who to say Wharton might not go? I think they will struggle.”

Arsenal’s important players

Odegaard and Saliba are at the top of the list, including star boy Bukayo Saka, right-back Ben White and club-record transfer, Declan Rice.

A few of those players are yet to return to action because they are now on their breaks after Euro 2024, although, Merson and Jeff Stelling were stunned by what they were hearing about Rice.

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All of these players aren’t world-class and they need to win that all-important Premier League trophy to take that step forward.

If that happens, then it will be Arsenal’s time to dominate because they would have done the hardest thing of them all and that’s going across the line for the first time.