Plus: Paul Merson assesses Enzo Maresca and Arne Slot's first games in charge of Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, why Raheem Sterling holds all the cards in his standoff at Stamford Bridge and what makes Mohamed Salah so unique.
Friday 23 August 2024 07:26, UK
Ahead of Arsenal's trip to Aston Villa on Saturday Night Football, Paul Merson looks at how the Gunners' Premier League title hopes could be tested at Villa Park...
Arsenal were very good at times, not for 90 minutes, but for phases in the game - their patterns of play. No disrespect to Man Utd, it was a good result on Friday night, but you watch Arsenal the next day and it's chalk and cheese. The gulf between the two teams is mind-blowing.
Meanwhile it was an unbelievable result for Villa, that is a hard game and a hard place to go. I'm not sure about what the West Ham head coach [Julen Lopetegui] has done, buying all those players and not playing them. It was extraordinary and I found that a bit weird.
But I felt sorry for him because it doesn't matter how hard you work and who you buy, if people don't pick up at set plays and let your marker go, it doesn't matter who you are. Pep Guardiola's the best in the business, but if Ruben Dias keeps on losing his man, it doesn't matter what Guardiola does.
But we saw it with Newcastle last year - it's a big ask for Villa [to make the top four again], there are extra games in the Champions League, players haven't played in it before - it took Man City three years to win it - not just being competitive, turning up again on Saturday, it's hard, it's a grind.
But that was a great start because if they lose that game and then they go and get beat by Arsenal, the next game will be away after that and it could be three defeats from their first three games. And then all of a sudden, it's a negative start to the season.
But it's a big game coming up against Arsenal. This is the benchmark for Arsenal and a good test. Villa did the double against them last year and that cost them the league. But at Villa Park, that was the best I've seen Arsenal play all season, they should have won that game quite comfortably.
But in the other game, I thought Villa did a job on them, they just sat there on the ropes and got punched and then thought, "We'll now have a go..."
This is a big game as it's an advantage Man City now they won at Chelsea because Arsenal have to go to Chelsea and that's a difficult game for them, it is a London derby.
But if Arsenal go and win this game against Villa and then you go advantage Arsenal again, that's the way I look at it. When Arsenal lost to West Ham and Fulham last December, that was the end of the title really as you know Man City are not going to lose those types of games.
To be honest, I don't feel Chelsea laid a glove on Man City [on Sunday]. Home advantage, no Rodri, Phil Foden, or Kyle Walker - there are times to play Man City and I thought that was one of the times. They were very nervy, playing out from the back in preseason.
I know it's only the start of the season, but there are times to play Man City and that would be a good time. You can't judge them just on that game, but at the same time as I said, it was the right time to play them.
But they can't be judged yet - I'm a great believer in waiting for 10 games, they tell you where you're going to be in the league.
For Many City, you look at yesterday, that's a difficult game, Chelsea away and they've gone and won that game. I thought Arsenal might get a head start on Man City this season with them maybe drawing at Chelsea.
I've got nothing wrong with that [releasing a statement] - he wants to know if he's playing. It is coming towards the end of his career, he's played a lot of football, he wants to play football and does not want to be stuck there.
I just think this didn't need to happen now. With the club, the manager has a rough idea when Pedro Neto comes in that he's not really going to be involved two weeks before the season starts.
Sterling is on a lot of money and they'll need to get rid immediately and I dread to think what they're going to have to pay him to go.
I don't know what will happen, but I would buy him. I was shocked that he wasn't involved against Man City. He's got a lot to give, he's one of those people who has an X-factor on his day.
For me, I was quite shocked, but, you know, the manager makes decisions. But I just thought this could have been nipped in the bud two, three weeks ago.
Raheem holds all the cards now, but I think he just wants to play football. It's not great the way he's at Chelsea in that sort of situation. Nathaniel Chalobah played a lot of football last season, now training with the kids and not training with the first team.
Someone could still go if they're not training with you and if their attitude's bad, then you go, 'you know what, you're off to the reserves, you train with the kids'. I don't like that sort of vibe at the moment, a lot of people training, probably because there are a million players there at the moment.
I've said it from the start and I'll say it again with Chelsea as a manager - he [Enzo Maresca] will have to find his best team very quickly. We saw it last year with Mauricio Pochettino - he never knew what his best team was and every weekend we'd go: "what's the Chelsea team going to be?" And you could be five out.
I can tell you now what Arsenal's team is next week. A hundred percent, I know it. And I can tell you what Arsenal's team will be in five weeks' time. And that's where he needs to sort it out very quickly. Yesterday, he brought on three forwards, there's got to be a balance in a way.
The two most important things to win anything are a goalie and a striker - no one ever wins anything without a top, top goalkeeper and you need a centre forward.
Yes, Arsenal haven't got a forward, but they've got a very good goalie and you saw that the other day when he [David Raya] made the worldie save to deny Jorgen Strand Larsen - it's a game-changer as if he scores that, Wolves get air in their lungs and it's a different game.
You look yesterday and Chelsea always had a chance at 1-0 as they will get a chance before the end of the game and then the goalie lets in the second and that's the end of the game. It's like putting a pin in a balloon, that was it, end of football match - he's got to save that.
So that's the worry with Chelsea as well as those are two of the most important things you need. You look at Erling Haaland yesterday - people make me laugh saying he only touched the ball three times. I'd rather him score a goal than touch the ball 1,600 times and not score a goal!
The worst thing you want to do is play one of the promoted teams first up if you're one of the big boys. You want to play them in November when reality has kicked in, they can't win a football match and have lots of injuries.
It's a leveller at the start of the season and Liverpool saw that leveller out in the first half. Maybe with a little bit more class, Ipswich could have scored a goal, but in the second half, this is what happens.
The cream will rise to the top and it's ruthless. In the Championship last year, they'd have won that game playing like that 99.9 per cent of the time. And yet by the end, it was damage limitation and you're thinking, it's going to be four or five. They did nothing really wrong.
You can't talk highly enough of Salah - how many goals is that now and he plays right wing? He's a right winger, it is just mind-blowing. He does it every season and he's the Frank Lampard of Liverpool, but playing right wing!
Who puts up figures like that playing on the right wing? Not too many, he is a one-off, extraordinary and you can't replace those players. He turns up every week, he's fit and he never misses a load of games.
