Arsenal hero Paul Merson says Eddie Nketiah deserves greater recognition.
Nketiah struck in the opening day victory against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Merson said: “Eddie Nketiah never lets Arsenal down which is a big thing.
“He’s one you bring in for three or four games and then take him out again.
“I expect Arsenal to challenge Man City for the league but if they don’t perform they won’t even be in the top four.
“That’s how hard this league is. There are no gimmies.”
Paul Merson admits he’s a fan of Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and his impact on the team this season.
Merson thinks Odegaard has taken Arsenal to ‘another level’ and he is the fifth-best midfielder in the Premier League today.
“At the moment, I’ll put Martin Odegaard at #5 because he’s taken Arsenal to another level this season,” said Merson to Sportskeeda. “He’s got a swagger about the way he plays and moves, while he’s also added goals to his game.
“Odegaard has been around for a while, so it’s easy to forget he’s only 23. The fact that he’s Arsenal’s captain at such a young age shows how highly Mikel Arteta rates him. I like Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount, Phil Foden, and the likes, but Odegaard is someone who has already made a massive impact this season.
“He plays in a position where he has to make things happen and he’s done just that as Arsenal find themselves at the top of the Premier League table with 18 points from seven games.
“Foden is an unreal talent too, but if he doesn’t play for Manchester City, they’ve got the likes of Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez to deputize for him.”
Paul Merson has predicted Newcastle United might finish above Arsenal in the Premier League table next season.
Merson said this ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League final day fixture against Everton on Sunday.
There’s a huge doubt over Arsenal’s participation in the Champions League next season.
Mikel Arteta’s side threw away a four-point lead over rivals Tottenham Hotspur and are now trailing Spurs, who occupy the fourth spot by two points with just one game to go.
“Newcastle could actually finish above Arsenal next season based on what I saw the other night – I’m not saying they will, but I was flabbergasted by what I saw in that game,” Merson wrote in his DailyStar column.
“Every single player was a four out of ten in that game. I’ve never seen that before. Usually, you have a couple who do the business. But every single player just didn’t turn up,” he added.
“I was actually watching it wondering who finishes higher next season, Arsenal or Newcastle? The gulf was unreal. Only one team had nothing to play for in that game. But if you didn’t know, you’d think it was Arsenal, because they just didn’t turn up. I could not believe what I was watching.”
“And I guarantee you there will be players at Arsenal now saying: ‘I want to leave if we don’t get Champions League football.’ That’s what sickens me the most. But they had their chance to qualify and they melted!” He said.
One-hundred percent Rangnick won’t be in charge of Man Utd next season
Arsenal title winner Paul Merson has hit out at treatment of Everton loanee Donny van de Beek at Manchester United.
The Dutch international joined the Blues for the remainder of the campaign having struggled for regular game time at Old Trafford.
Merson has criticised the treatment of Van de Beek under former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
“I felt sorry for Donny van de Beek at Manchester United,” Merson told Sportskeeda.
“He never moaned and just got on with it. I think Manchester United have missed a trick here. He’s a very good player and I think he’ll be very successful at Everton.
“Frank Lampard can get Van de Beek’s career going. He was a top player at Ajax but fell behind the eight-ball at Manchester United.”
Arsenal title winner Paul Merson has questioned Manchester United’s move for Ralf Rangnick.
Rangnick has been hailed as a ‘football visionary for his ‘Gegenpressing’ style of football and has won seven trophies during his coaching career.
But Merson believes Rangnick faces a far more difficult challenge at United.
“Why do they need an interim manager? Because they don’t know what they’re doing at the moment, in my opinion,” Merson told Soccer Saturday.
“Ole would have been at the club still today if it wasn’t for two goals in the last minute at Watford. I don’t think there was any plan. They didn’t think in their wildest dreams it was going to end up like that at Watford. At 2-1, I think he’s still in charge come Sunday. I think they were going to keep it going as long as they could.
“Now, to bring in a manager… I’m hearing people going how great he is – but he’s never managed in England, he’s never managed one of the top teams in the world. Why is that? Why has no one else come in for him when managers have been up?
“I hear great things about him, people saying he’s going to press and he’s hard working and he’s turned lesser teams into real contenders. But that’s a lot different, getting a Schalke or a Hoffenheim to a certain stage.
“When you’re asked to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and they already have superstars and you’ve got to make them play… it’s all right at Schalke and Hoffenheim because they’re going to listen and they want to get there. These [United] players are there and you have got to get them to go again.
“I think this is going to be difficult, this is going to be a lot harder than what people think.
“What I’m hearing is it’s like a gimme, he’ll come in and that will be it. That Man Utd are lucky. I’m not sure about that.”