Paul Merson: ‘This is why Arsenal could lose Premier League title race’ despite Bournemouth win

Mikel Arteta will want to look away after Paul Merson’s brutal verdict when it comes to Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes.

Following a difficult first half at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, 3 January, Arsenal put three goals past Bournemouth to move six points clear at the top of the table.

Of course, Man City still need to face Chelsea on Sunday, 4 January, which could add another twist to the title race, but Merson believes he has already spotted the Gunners’ biggest weakness this season.

That is massively unfortunate, given that Arteta is under huge pressure to win silverware, having not lifted a trophy since the 2019-20 FA Cup, in his campaign in charge at the Emirates Stadium.

Despite some major spending in the summer, the North London side appear to still be lacking in some areas.

Paul Merson remains worried about Arsenal’s attack

Merson was keen to point out the Gunners’ lack of a “natural” centre-forward, with Viktor Gyokeres yet to hit the ground running at Arsenal, and Jesus not quite back to full match sharpness after injury.

Speaking on Sky Sports after the game (3 January), Merson said: “Up front. I don’t think Arsenal have a natural goalscorer. Gyokeres has come in and is supposed to be that player, but I don’t think he’s a natural goalscorer.

“He’s never tapping balls in, he’s not got a lot of goals, fullstop. When it gets down to those last eight games, and it gets so nervy, you might need that something out of nothing.

“They need a natural goalscorer, and I think the nearest they have is Gabriel Jesus. He goes with Gyokeres before him, and I think he’ll go with [Kai] Havertz before him when he comes back. That’s the one for me.”

Mikel Arteta annoyed at Gabriel Martinelli as Viktor Gyokeres also struggles

Arteta was clearly frustrated by Gabriel Martinelli in the first 45 minutes, with Gyokeres not the only forward struggling at the Vitality Stadium.

The centre-forward’s stats were far more damning than the one incident involving Martinelli, though, given that the 27-year-old had just 21 touches of the ball against the Cherries [FotMob].

In his 66 minutes on the pitch, Gyokeres had just one shot, completed 33 per cent of his dribbles, won 40 per cent of his ground duels, committed one foul, and completed just five passes.

Compared to what Erling Haaland is doing at Man City, it is night and day between the two strikers, and that could definitely be the difference between the Gunners getting their hands on silverware or not.

The same could be said about Ollie Watkins and Aston Villa, with the Villans just six points behind the league leaders, and anything could happen in the second half of the 2025-26 campaign.

The post Paul Merson: ‘This is why Arsenal could lose Premier League title race’ despite Bournemouth win appeared first on Football Insider.