Paul Merson makes gloomy prediction about Arsenal under Unai Emery

Arsenal legend Paul Merson Photo: Screen grab

Paul Merson has brought Arsenal supporters back down to earth after the Gunners legend predicted Unai Emery’s side will be on the end of a “thrashing” in the near future.

The Gunners have impressed under Arsene Wenger’s replacement over the past month or so following a run of six successive victories to hoist themselves up to fourth place in the table.

The north London side have eased to victories over West Ham, Newcastle, Everton, Watford, Fulham and Cardiff City to prompt talk of a top-four challenge in the current campaign.

Arsenal’s winning run is all the more impressive considering the Gunners made an underwhelming start to the campaign following successive losses to Manchester City and Chelsea FC.

Only the Citizens have scored more times than Arsenal this season after Emery’s side netted their 19th goal in eight games after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang polished off a 5-1 win at Fulham last weekend.

However, former Arsenal star Merson believes the Gunners will suffer a heavy loss in the coming weeks due to their deficiencies at the back.

“Sooner or later they will be on the end of a big score – defensively they are all over the place,” Merson told The Debate on Sky Sports.

“The one thing that gets them out of trouble is that they’re always going to score goals. But defensively, they are just not good enough.”

Arsenal will welcome Leicester City in their next Premier League game at The Emirates on Monday 22 October in hope of a seventh successive top flight win.

If Merson is looking for a potential thrashing, Arsenal’s home fixture against Liverpool FC on 3 November could be a drubbing for the north London side.

The Gunners have conceded 17 times in their last five games against Jurgen Klopp’s side, including a 4-0 loss to Liverpool FC at Anfield back in August 2017.

Arsenal signed veteran Juventus defender Stephan Lichtsteiner, Borussia Dortmund centre-half Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Bayer Leverusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno and Sampdoria defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira in the summer.

However, the Gunners have still shown a vulnerability at the back after conceding 10 times in eight Premier League games this season.

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