Merson reveals one Chelsea ‘advantage’ over Arsenal; ‘unplayable’ star can help Blues ‘beat anyone’

Lewis Oldham 19 Oct 2023 1:46 PM

Chelsea pair Sterling and Fernandez — Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling.

Paul Merson thinks Chelsea are capable of “beating anybody” but Arsenal will be a “major player” in the title race if they beat the Blues this weekend.

Arsenal travel to face Chelsea – who have two of the worst finishers in the Premier League – at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening and this should be a major test for each team.

The Gunners are coming off a 1-0 victory over Manchester City and they are level with Tottenham at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea meanwhile have struggled at the start of this season but they won two games in a row before the international break.

Mauricio Pochettino‘s side are starting to build some momentum but it would be a huge scalp if they hand Arsenal their first Premier League loss of the new season.

Merson thinks Arsenal could lay down “another marker” this weekend, but Raheem Sterling – who has three goals in eight games this term – could cause them problems.

“Arsenal come to Stamford Bridge this weekend and they will have a go at Chelsea, so it will be interesting. But against the better teams, like Liverpool who had a right go, those are the games Chelsea have played well in this season,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“With where Chelsea are in the league, teams will not want to play them because on their day, they can beat anybody and when Raheem Sterling is playing like he did at Burnley, then he is unplayable.

“Mauricio Pochettino’s side can kick-start their season with a win, but this is also a big game for Arsenal. This can be another marker laid down for them. If they win this game, I’m looking at Arsenal as major, major players.”

Merson thinks “one advantage Chelsea will have” is that they will “virtually know what the Arsenal team will be”.

“It’s a London derby, a huge game with big players on both sides. However, it comes at a difficult time after the international break.” Merson added.

“The managers won’t have long to work with the players before it is game time. They’ll also be sweating on who comes back fit after the break, especially with the travel some of the players have to do.

“In some ways, it is a shame this game comes at this point, and it is why this league is so difficult.

“Many of the players will get back on Tuesday, have a recovery session and then just have Thursday and Friday to prepare for such a huge game.

“It will come down to who can adapt better and get up to speed quickly after they return to their clubs.

“One advantage Chelsea will have is that we virtually know what the Arsenal team is going to be. On the other hand, we have no idea what the Chelsea team will be.”

Arsenal Paul Merson