Arsenal star ‘looks lost’ as Merson makes damaging prediction over Premier League finish

James Holland 10 Mar 2025 9:37 AM

Paul Merson has criticised Arsenal

Paul Merson has told Mikel Merino he ‘looks lost’ up front, while also warning Arsenal that they could finish as low as fifth in the Premier League due to their striker problems.

Mikel Arteta has been looking for a new centre-forward for some time as he does not fully trust Gabriel Jesus. Kai Havertz has mainly operated there this season after the Gunners failed to land RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko last summer.

Arsenal launched a £60million bid for Ollie Watkins in January after Jesus underwent surgery on an ACL injury, only for Aston Villa to reject it.

Things went from bad to worse for Arteta in February when Havertz was told he would miss the rest of the campaign with a serious hamstring issue.

Merino has been used as a makeshift striker in recent weeks, despite the midfielder admitting he has never operated up front before.

Arsenal dominated possession in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday, in the latest game where Merino played as a No 9.

But Arsenal are clearly lacking a deadly poacher in the box, and their only goal at Old Trafford came from Declan Rice.

Former Arsenal star Merson has now questioned Arsenal’s decision not to go all-out for a striker in January.

Merson is worried that Arteta’s side could even fall down to fifth in the league, despite their aim of catching title favourites Liverpool in recent weeks.

“I thought it was covering over the cracks in midweek [the 7-1 thrashing of PSV]. I saw them at Leicester, they scored two in the last 10 minutes [but] Leicester let in goals everywhere,” the pundit said on Sky Sports.

“[Arsenal] never looked like scoring against West Ham, never really looked like scoring against [Nottingham] Forest.

“You’re playing in the top league in the world, you’re playing for one of the top teams in the league and you’ve got no centre-forward.

“You’re asking Merino to go up there and play. He came on and got two against Leicester, they were good finishes but you’re not going to win the league with him up front.

“He looks lost up front. He doesn’t give you a presence.

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“It’s so important, a centre-forward. No team ever wins anything without a good centre-forward.

“Arsenal are suffering at the moment. It’s a worry now until the end of the season because they’ve got to score goals and there’s no goals in them.

“It’s starting to get a little bit tight [the top five]. Man City have got some nice fixtures coming up, it wouldn’t surprise me – City are in fifth at the moment – they could catch Arsenal.”

Arsenal are now 15 points behind Liverpool with a game in hand. They are actually closer to City, with Pep Guardiola’s side eight points behind.

Arsenal finishing fifth would be a major blow considering how close they have come to winning the title in recent seasons. It was thought that Arsenal would be the ones to step up if City falter, only for Liverpool to perform brilliantly under Arne Slot.

Arsenal would need to endure a terrible end to the season to fall down to fifth. Although, they would likely still qualify for the Champions League in this instance, as the Premier League is poised to get five qualification spots.