Paul Merson sends praise to Arsene Wenger about surprise Arsenal performance
The Arsenal legend gives Arsene Wenger some praise for his side's performance in a goalless draw at Chelsea last weekend
Paul Merson admits Arsene Wenger deserves credit for Arsenal’s performance at Chelsea despite labelling himself as a critic of the Gunners manager.
The north London side have endured a mixed start to the Premier League season following a return of three points from their opening three top-flight fixtures.
Arsenal lost 1-0 at Stoke City before a resounding 4-0 defeat at title rivals Liverpool to sign off on August in disappointing fashion.
However, the Gunners have regrouped since the international break and have collected four points from their last two Premier League outings.
The north London side were 3-0 winners against Bournemouth before Wenger’s men battled to a goalless draw with the Premier League champions at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal produced a pragmatic and resilient performance to deny the title holders a fourth straight Premier League win and answer some of their critics.
And Merson, who hasn’t been afraid to speak out about Wenger’s management in the past couple of seasons, felt that the Arsenal boss deserved credit for last weekend’s result.
“I’m one of Arsene Wenger’s biggest critics but only because I think Arsenal should be doing better,” Merson told Sky Sports News.
“Credit where credit is due, they were outstanding against Chelsea. He left out their two star players in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil and put out a team that were going to work hard and get back into a shape, and play from there.”
Arsenal signed France international Alexandre Lacazette in a club-record £52m deal from Ligue 1 side Lyon in the summer transfer window.
The Gunners recruited Bosnian defender Sead Kolasinac in a free transfer from Bundesliga outfit Schalke 04 back in June.
