Paul Merson outlines his prediction for Arsenal v Man City

Paul Merson has warned that Arsenal cannot afford to lose Sunday’s Premier League showdown with Manchester City at The Emirates.

The Gunners will host the defending champions in front of their home fans this weekend as they bid to close the gap on the Premier League leaders.

Arsenal currently sit a point behind Pep Guardiola’s table toppers after City suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Mikel Arteta’s men were comfortable 4-0 winners at Bournemouth last Saturday but fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat by Lens in the Champions League in midweek.

Bukayo Saka (Photo: Adidas)

Arsenal star man Bukayo Saka had to be substituted due to a hamstring injury picked up during the European loss, while Gabriel Martinelli is also out due to a hamstring problem picked up against Everton.

Manchester City, meanwhile, will be without key man Rodri for the trip to The Emirates after the Spaniard picked up a three-game suspension following his red card against Nottingham Forest.

Former Arsenal midfielder Merson feels that the Gunners must not lose Sunday’s game and he feels that the game is likely to end all square in a 1-1 draw, admitting that he “can’t see” how the north Londoners can win the clash.

“If I had predicted this game on Tuesday, I’d have definitely backed Arsenal to win this game,” Merson told Sportskeeda.

“Manchester City are without Rodri and they aren’t the same team. Arsenal will now have to do without Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, and I can’t see how Arsenal can win this game.”

Arsenal legend Paul Merson (Photo: Sky Sports)

Merson also explained how he believes that Sunday’s clash could end up shaping the Premier League title race over the next few weeks, with Manchester City gunning for their fourth straight title.

“Arsenal got an opening in the title race last week, and they’ll need to make the most of it,” Merson added. “You’ve got to make hay while the sun shines with this City team.

“If Man City are held to a draw here, they’ll have picked up only one point in their last two games. It also offers Liverpool and Tottenham a chance to fight for the Premier League title.

“I don’t think Arsenal need to win this game, but they need to make sure they don’t lose. If they get beat here, it’s déjà vu – they lost both their games against Manchester City last season. It’s going to be a very cagey match, and I think it’ll end in a draw.”

Meanwhile, former Arsenal and Manchester City defender Gael Clichy believes that Manchester City are most likely to take all three points at The Emirates on Sunday.

“It will be an amazing game with a very high intensity,” Clichy is quoted as saying by Metro. “Mikel Arteta is a copy of Pep Guardiola, you can see he’s a mini-version of him in his tactics, on the touchline and in his press conferences.

Mikel Arteta (Photo: Mark Cosgrove / News Images / depositphotos.com)

“I do think Manchester City will win the game, they have so much quality and still have Erling Haaland, who complicates how to defend against the whole team when he’s so dangerous. All Man City need to do is get the ball in the air to Haaland and he can hurt Arsenal.”

Sunday’s game is Arsenal’s final clash before the international break, with the Gunners set to resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to Chelsea FC on Saturday 21 October.