Paul Merson makes bold Arsenal prediction after £60m transfer: ‘That will cost them’ | Football
Paul Merson believes that Arsenal’s decision to sell Gabriel Martinelli will hold them back from winning the Champions League this season.
Martinelli’s move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal was confirmed on Thursday, with the Brazilian winger joining for a fee of £60million.
That figure marks a club-record sale for the Gunners, who also let Leandro Trossard depart for Besiktas earlier in the summer.
Arsenal brought in Christos Tzolis from Club Brugge as a replacement, but the defending champions ultimately failed in their bid to sign a marquee left winger in the summer window.
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Morgan Rogers was a key target for Mikel Arteta but instead chose to join Chelsea, while Vinicius Junior opted to extend his contract at Real Madridafter interest from the Gunners.
And while Merson believes Arsenal are still the team to beat in the league, the former Gunners midfielder thinks their transfer business in forward areas could cost them when they face the elite sides on the continent.
‘I think they’ll win the Premier League, but I think they’ll fall short in the Champions League because of not having that extra person up front,’ Merson told Sky Sports.
‘Havertz and Gyokeres, I like those two, but they are not going to give you sleepless nights.
‘And you look on the left, you have Tzolis and Eze. Eze is a good footballer, but I think I like him more in the middle than out on the left and Tzolis is a very hard-working left winger, a manager’s dream.
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‘My picture is when you’re playing against PSG away and Bayern Munich away and Inter Milan away and Real Madrid and Barcelona, I can’t imagine the right-back having a sleepless night.
‘I can’t imagine him tossing and turning in bed thinking, oh my god, I’ve got to play against him tonight.’
Merson continued: ‘I wouldn’t have let Trossard go, in my opinion, I think he’s a good footballer. I think he’s a clever player and has played in the big games.
‘When you’re at the top, you buy players, you buy players and you stay at the top. The thing with what you’re saying about Arsenal’s forward line and the players they’ve got in their position, they’re very good in the Premier League, because teams sit back against Arsenal in the Premier League, so they haven’t got any runners.
‘No one runs off the ball, Arsenal, the front players; you never see them going that way. But they’re alright, because teams sit ten behind the ball and they’ll have the guile and they’ll have the patience to break a team down.
‘When you go and play PSG away and Bayern Munich away and they come and have a go at you, they won’t have that fear of that pace of Martinelli on the counter-attack, and that will cost them.’
Arsenal incoming and outgoings
INCOMINGS
- Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle) – £75m
- Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa) – £51m
- Piero Hincapie (Bayer Leverkusen) – £35m
- Christos Tzolis (Club Brugge) – £34m
- Illan Meslier (Leeds) – free transfer
OUTGOINGS
- Gabriel Martinelli (Al-Hilal) – £56m
- Leandro Trossard (Besiktas) – £17m
- Jakub Kiwior (Porto) – £14.8m
- Gabriel Jesus (Barcelona) – £8.6m
- Fabio Vieira (Hamburg) – £8.6m
- Christian Norgaard (Everton) – £7m
Speaking earlier in the week, Arteta insisted Arsenal had no regrets about their decision to sell Martinelli and Trossard after failing to sign another attacker in the latter stages of the window.
‘The selling of players can come from different aspects as well,’ the Spaniard said.
‘It’s not always the same one. That’s part of the responsibility we have at the football club.
‘I understand the point of view, but we have to understand the amount of minutes those players played and the ones that were injured, especially in the first six months.
‘Then the data shows something completely different, but it is what it is. This is what we have and we already have some very good players.’
Arsenal will look to continue their perfect start to the league season on Sunday when they take on Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea at the Emirates.
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