Paul Merson predicts North London derby score: Arsenal vs Tottenham
Paul Merson has made his Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur score prediction and he believes winning the match is more important to his former side than Spurs.
Tottenham’s lack of consistency is costing them points
Much has been said of Tottenham’s hit-and-miss performances this season. For every high-scoring win over Manchester City, Aston Villa and West Ham, there have been 1-0 defeats to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
This was illustrated perfectly in their two most recent matches. A surprise 1-0 victory over Premier League leaders, Liverpool, in the Carabao Cup was followed by 90 minutes without a goal against Tamworth, who are 16th in the National League.
The Premier League itself is a particular concern for Spurs, who have lost three of their past four matches in the competition. Their most recent win came in mid-December – a 5-0 victory over Southampton.
Paul Merson predicts an Arsenal win over Spurs
Tottenham will have to get past Arsenal to end their winless league run, but Paul Merson believes his boyhood club will take the three points against an ‘up and down’ Spurs team. He has also revealed that winning a trophy should be the priority for Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Making his prediction on Sportskeeda, he said: “What I watched yesterday [Arsenal losing to Manchester United] was just mind-blowing, I cannot believe that it happened and Arsenal were ultimately knocked out of the FA Cup!
“It’s a shame Gabriel Jesus got injured but that has now surely got to make Mikel Arteta go and buy a centre-forward. They need someone to lead that line and they need him quick. You either break the bank for Alexander Isak or get Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt before Manchester City.
“You look at Isak the other day against Arsenal, he got one chance and he scored. He had hardly touched the ball until that point but he still put it away. When you compare that to Arsenal, their forwards need four or five chances to score! I expect them to beat Tottenham, but they desperately need a new centre-forward.
“Spurs are too up and down and I just don’t see how they can win here. A trophy would keep Ange Postecoglou in the job. If they finish eighth in the Premier League and win the Carabao Cup, where they have a 1-0 advantage ahead of the semi-final second leg at Anfield, that’s still good in my opinion.
“Some top teams could finish in the top four this season and not have a trophy. And this is Spurs by the way, they have never won anything!
“If Arsenal win and Forest manage to get a draw or win against Liverpool, suddenly the gap at the top doesn’t look that big. Liverpool’s game in hand over Arsenal is also a different thing now because it’s David Moyes in charge at Everton. If Liverpool end up drawing that game, Arsenal are in with a huge chance. Everything has to start with a win here against Spurs, though.”
Merson’s prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
Arsenal have scored fewer Premier League goals than Tottenham
Merson has highlighted Arsenal’s lack of strong options in attack and this has clearly been affecting them recently. Although the Gunners trail only Liverpool and Tottenham for league goals scored this season, there have been a few matches this season where they have failed to score. Also, they have only netted two times in their past three matches in all competitions.
Spurs eventually came good in extra time against Tamworth and they will need the likes of Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson to have their shooting boots on if they are to seal a rare victory at the Emirates Stadium.
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