Arsenal hero Paul Merson has backed his old side to come out on top against London rivals Chelsea this evening.
The Gunners are winless in four, drawing three on the bounce before suffering a 4-1 defeat against Premier League title rivals Manchester City last week. The Citizens now sit above Mikel Arteta's side in the current standings whilst also boasting a game in hand on the north Londoners, who will be desperate to get back to winning ways when they welcome the Blues to the Emirates Stadium tonight.
Frank Lampard's men haven't won any of their last eight outings across all competitions, a run that will stretch to nine according to Merson. Writing for Sportskeeda, he said: "I just don't see this being a hard game for Arsenal.
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"I'd be shocked if Chelsea won. I'm looking at their fixtures and wondering where their next win could be coming from. Sure, they've got Nottingham Forest at home coming up but that's the only relatively easy-looking fixture.
"I don't see anything but an Arsenal win here. Given Chelsea's squad depth, they should not be in the position they are in. Chelsea don't have a good centre-forward. They can't seem to figure out where the goals are coming from."
Merson's prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Chelsea
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton has echoed Merson's sentiments, backing the hosts to overcome their London rivals narrowly. Writing for the BBC, Sutton said: "Frank Lampard took the job with the best intentions but his spell as interim Chelsea boss has been a disaster, with five defeats out of five.
"He has had a stinker and you just cannot view it any other way. There is all this talk about Mauricio Pochettino getting the job but Frank is still in charge for now - and I don't know where he goes from here.
"It's not the defeats to Real Madrid that have damaged him, it's being beaten by Wolves, being absolutely played off the park by Brighton and then losing again at home to Brentford - the Bees are now eight points above Chelsea. Who could have imagined that?
"Chelsea just are not looking like a team at all, which is perhaps their biggest problem, but Arsenal have problems too. They look to me like a side whose confidence has been shot to pieces.
"We don't know how much that heavy defeat to Manchester City, in what was billed as a title decider, will hurt them but I guess we are about to find out. This makes this game very hard to call. Chelsea have been so bad that in some ways the pressure is off, while the Gunners still want a strong end to the season.
"I can't see this being a cracker and there won't be many goals, but I am going with Arsenal to pull themselves together and win it - just about."
Chris Sutton's prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea
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