Arsenal took advantage of Manchester City’s presence in the FA Cup, defeating Newcastle 1-0 and moving three points clear in the race for the Premier League title.
Paul Merson remains confident in Arsenal (Image: Sky Sports)
Arsenal will win their first Premier League title in 22 years if they beat Fulham next weekend, according to Paul Merson. The Gunners regained their composure after a poor spell and reclaimed top spot with a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
Eberechi Eze’s stunning curler from the edge of the box was enough to earn them all three points on a tense night in north London. The home side needed a good performance from goalkeeper David Raya and a big mistake from Newcastle striker Yoan Ouissa to get it over the line.
While Manchester City were busy defeating Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals, Arsenal had the chance to regain top spot in the Premier League. City’s three successive wins, including a decisive win over Arsenal last weekend, have seen Josep Guardiola’s side level on points.
However, Arsenal can extend their lead to six points by defeating Fulham next Saturday, and City will not return to league action until Monday, May 4, when they play away to Everton. Former Arsenal star Merson says this points cushion could be important in the fixture.
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“If Arsenal beat Fulham at home next week, Arsenal will win the league,” Melson confidently said on Sky Sports. “I think so (I think so). I’ve been saying all season that they’ll win. It’s getting close, but if they can get six points behind, I think… Everton away, six points behind, will be a difficult game (for Man City).”
Jamie Redknapp added: “I think it’s 50-50. I believe it wholeheartedly. Anything can happen. We could end up in a goal difference situation. The pressure is palpable. I watched Man City v Burnley on Tuesday night and there was a bit of pressure on their performance. Anything can still happen.”
Statistician Opta has Arsenal as heavy favorites with a 72 per cent chance of winning the title for the first time since the 2003/04 season, in part due to the difficulty of the games. Mikel Arteta’s side will face Fulham, West Ham, Burnley and Crystal Palace, while City will face European-chasing Everton, Brentford, Bournemouth, Palace and Aston Villa.
Ebelesi Eze scored a vital goal for Arsenal (Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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“There was a massive reset and I felt a change in energy in the dressing room,” Arteta told Match of the Day. “We enjoyed what we had to do and now we can play against Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League, which is great.”
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice added: “I think we said after last week that if we want to win the Premier League we have to win five games. We’ve lost one now and there are four to go. It was important that we won however we wanted to win.”
Asked how he deals with the pressure, Rice said, “Block it out. There’s a reason we got here. There’s always going to be noise, from home fans, away fans, people outside. It’s just about blocking it out and believing in what we can do, which is just win football games. We’ll keep doing that.”
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