Chelsea produced a spirited performance to hold Arsenal on Sunday and Paul Merson insists they could finish ahead of Manchester City – but can’t see the Gunners being caught
Paul Merson believes Chelsea have it in them to finish second ahead of Manchester City but “can’t see anybody touching Arsenal at the top”.
The Blues produced an impressive showing to hold the Gunners on Sunday despite being a man down for more than half the game. Trevoh Chalobah helped them take the lead after Moises Caicedo’s red card before Mikel Merino levelled the contest.
Chelsea had gone into the weekend in second, but their stalemate saw City jump back ahead of them. Pep Guardiola’s side needed a last minute goal to see off Leeds but are still not the force of old.
Already they’ve lost four times this season and Merson, having seen Chelsea on Sunday, believes they could top City come May with their squad depth a particular strength.
Merson told Sportskeeda: “You’ve got to be impressed by the way in which Chelsea played against Arsenal. To have your best player, your engine, sent off and still play that kind of football against a team like Arsenal, Enzo Maresca will be super happy.
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“We always say Chelsea are a very young team, but they have a lot of players who are full internationals for their country. Despite being young, most of them have considerable experience playing at senior level. Looking at Chelsea’s squad, they surely have it in them to finish above Manchester City this season.”
Over the past nine seasons City have only missed out on the top two once – that being last season. Erling Haaland’s goals have kept them in touch with Arsenal, whom they trail by five points, with the north Londoners looking to end a 21-year wait for the title.
Never in recent memory have they looked more likely to win the Premier League and, on the whole, Arsenal have looked like champions elect. Despite dropping points against their rivals their ex-player insists their winning habit against the other teams will pay off.
Merson claimed: “Arsenal have dropped points against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, but they are winning against everyone else and that is making a difference. If you told Arsenal at the start of the season that they were going to have a run where they face Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week and come away with two wins and a draw, they would have taken it all day long.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
