Paul Merson says Arsenal will end their 22-year wait for another Premier League trophy if they beat Fulham but Jamie Carragher has warned Marco Silva’s side could be a “banana skin” in the title race.
Arsenal face Fulham, live on Saturday Night Football, with a three-point advantage at the top of the table after leapfrogging Manchester City, who have a game in hand, thanks to a nervy 1-0 win against Newcastle last time out.
Eberechi Eze’s stunner in the ninth minute gave Arsenal the perfect start in that game but they struggled from there on and came close to squandering two points in the final moments when Yoane Wissa blazed his shot over the bar from close range.
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Jamie Carragher demonstrates how Arsenal confused Newcastle in three consecutive corner routines, which led up to Eberechi Eze’s winner
Saturday 2nd May 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
Despite the worrying performance from Arsenal, who created an expected goals value of just 0.49 xG, Merson believes their next league game will be the decisive one in the title race, regardless of their recent struggles with nerves.
“Beat Fulham and it’ll be Arsenal’s league title,” he said on the Premier League Show.
“Arsenal never really looked like scoring [vs Newcastle] and that’s a worry. You go 1-0 up against a struggling Newcastle team, you think they are going to kick on but they didn’t.
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Paul Merson says ‘nervous’ Arsenal are a tough watch as the hunt for the Premier League title
“That is the problem, everybody is nervous. You get to the end of the season and any mistake, that is it, end of.
“In the end, they were hanging on. It’s a hard watch. I don’t mean that because the football is not great, it’s just a hard watch because of the nerves.
“It can’t be again. You can’t come second four times on the trot.”
Carragher: Fulham could be Arsenal’s banana skin in title race
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Jamie Carragher reveals why he’s really worried about Arsenal’s remaining fixture schedule.
Carragher believes trying to balance both European football and the title race could have major implications come the end of the season, warning that Fulham could be a “banana skin” for the league leaders, four days after facing Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
“If Arsenal continue in that vein, as we saw at the weekend against Newcastle, I don’t see them winning all the games,” Carragher told Sky Sports News.
“Arsenal have been a little bit unlucky with the scheduling. They’re playing Wednesday-Tuesday [in the Champions League].
“People might think, ‘what’s the difference?’ But you’re playing three games in six days as opposed to three games in eight days. That’s a big difference when you’re at this stage of the season and you’re thinking of fatigue as well.
“Can you recover quickly enough from a Wednesday night in Madrid to travel back and then you play Saturday against Fulham? That’s a big ask, and Fulham are a decent side.
“It will feel like for Arsenal or Manchester City that one draw and you’ll feel like the league’s lost.
“I think Fulham are a really good team, and there’s a chance that could be the real banana skin for Arsenal.”
Carra: Arsenal’s problem isn’t nerves, it’s fatigue
The Gunners will play four games in 11 days across both the Premier League and Champions League. Meanwhile, in the same period of time, City will play just twice.
Heading into the game against Newcastle, much of the talk surrounding Arsenal and their title bid focused on the nerves associated with the end of the season and whether they could cope with the pressure – but Carragher believes a much bigger problem is facing Arteta and his squad.
Speaking on Monday Night Football, he continued: “I think I’m less convinced about Arsenal winning the league after the victory [Newcastle] than I was after the defeat against Man City.
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Tim Sherwood gives his advice to Arsenal as Manchester City continue to hunt them down for the Premier League title
“There was an energy I liked about them last week, a little bit on the counter-attack.
“They just needed to win [vs Newcastle], so they might not have cared about the football. My worry wasn’t the nerves. It hasn’t been for a few weeks.
“Mine is fatigue while watching them. For me, Arsenal are the best team in the league without the ball. Also, it’s difficult to play against them when they are at their best; they are one of the best pressing teams in European football.
“It was far too easy for Newcastle to make passes and get to the edge of the box. They couldn’t create when they got there but it looked leggy to me.
“I thought of [Sandro] Tonali and [Bruno] Guimaraes in midfield; it was too easy for them to dictate the game and to make passes.
“To see Newcastle play with ease at the Emirates, I thought it was worrying. It smacked of fatigue for me.”
Watch Arsenal vs Fulham live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 5pm on Saturday.
