Paul Merson makes huge Arsenal vs Brighton claim ahead of Liverpool Premier League title clash
Paul Merson has put the pressure on Mikel Arteta and Arsenal ahead of their clash against Brighton with a huge meeting against Liverpool to follow. The Gunners lost to Aston Villa in Premier League action last weekend with Unai Emery's side moving up to just one point behind the north Londoners.
This past weekend Liverpool moved top of the league with a late comeback victory against Crystal Palace with Manchester City securing their first win in four with a 2-1 triumph over Luton Town. Following the results, there is now just four points between the teams in the Champions League qualification spots with Arsenal taking on Brighton, Man City hosting Crystal Palace and Man United travelling to Anfield for a clash against Liverpool.
With the busy Christmas period in full force, heavily rotated starting XI's are expected with Pep Guardiola showcasing that by naming Oscar Bobb and Micah Hamilton from the off in Man City's final Champions League group stage clash against Red Star Belgrade.
Jurgen Klopp has also done the same for the Thursday night clash against Union Saint-Gilloise with youngsters Kaide Gordon and Conor Bradley starting in Belgium. Arteta somewhat followed that by making eight changes, however William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes both started with Declan Rice also playing the final half hour.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Rice will likely return to the starting XI for the visit of Brighton with a huge fixture at Liverpool to come the following weekend. While most eyes will be on that potentially title-defining clash against Liverpool, Arteta will insist his focus is on Brighton with Merson making a huge claim regarding that game.
«If Arsenal want to be in the title race, they need to beat Brighton, more so
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