Paul Merson predicts where Arsenal will finish this season
Paul Merson explains why he is not expecting to see Arsenal finish in the top four this season
Paul Merson has ruled out the possibility of Arsenal finishing in the top four this season and says they are likely to end up fifth or sixth.
The Gunners endured a miserable start to the new Premier League season on Friday night when they were beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Brentford in their opening game of the new campaign.
The north London side finished in eighth place and without a trophy last season and they have been busy in the summer transfer window, bringing in the likes of Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Ben White.
Arsenal are also being linked with a number of potential other inbound transfers before the window closes at the end of the month.
Former Gunners midfielder Merson feels that a top-four finish will be out of reach for the north Londoners this term, but he believes that they are capable of improving on their eighth-placed finish from last term.
Writing in his column for The Daily Star, Merson said: “They [Arsenal] won’t finish in the top four. But if Mikel Arteta gets them together they could finish fifth or sixth and that would be progress.
“Playing once a week will be huge. Having no European football to worry about means they can spend all week preparing for games.
“They need to make the most of that. And Ben White makes a big difference for them because he’s a very good defender.”
Arsenal will host Chelsea FC in their next Premier League game next weekend.
