Paul Merson drops ‘Difficult’ verdict ahead of West Ham United v Arsenal live on Sky Sports
Paul Merson believes Arsenal will have a difficult task when they take on West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Hammers will host the Gunners in east London after a poor showing in a 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford last time out, looking to get back on track in their hunt for a European place in the Premier League table.
But with Arsenal chasing a first title since 2004, Merson told Soccer Saturday (10 February) they should win the game but he wouldn’t be shocked if they fail after struggling against David Moyes’ side in recent meetings.
“The game this weekend [versus West Ham], I wouldn’t be shocked if Arsenal didn’t win,” he said. “That’s where Arsenal are at at the moment.
“They’ve bounced back from when they got beat by Fulham and West Ham, but it doesn’t remind me of last year where they’d go to these places and I’d think they’ll destroy these teams. It can go either way.
“I don’t see that. It’s a difficult game this weekend.
“For me, Arsenal are right up against it in a London derby and they’ve struggled against West Ham in the last three games. It will be a difficult game.”
Never write West Ham United off
There’s no such thing as an easy game in the Premier League, and West Ham away will certainly never fall into that category.
Arsenal are the favourites because their recent form and their position in the league, but Moyes has shown several times recently that he knows how to set up against them and has the players to hurt them too.
The strong defensive unit is set up to stop Arsenal having any joy on the wings and congesting the middle so that they’re intricate passing is totally useless. Then with the pace of Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, there is scope to really hurt them on the counter.
But the Hammers must perform better than they did a week ago at Old Trafford because the same was true then, but the performance levels were poor and they never looked like stopping Man United getting a win.
If the team performs the way everyone knows they are capable of, then Arsenal should not have an easy day and could easily drop points without anyone being surprised. Merson has predicted a Gunners win, so lets prove him wrong.
In other West Ham news, Dimitar Berbatov predicts result of clash v Arsenal.
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.