“It’s weird but…” – Paul Merson shares Arsenal v Liverpool prediction as Slot questioned
Paul Merson has given his prediction for Liverpool’s Premier League showdown away to Arsenal on Thursday night, with the champions visiting the leaders at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s go into the fixture with a whopping 14-point advantage over the Merseysiders, who’ve begun 2026 with frustrating draws against Leeds and Fulham and could be without leading scorer Hugo Ekitike if he doesn’t recovery from injury in time to feature.
Chris Sutton has already gone on record to predict a comfortable home win for the Gunners, and that forecast has been shared by his fellow Sky Sports pundit.
What has Merson predicted for Arsenal v Liverpool?
In his midweek Premier League predictions column for Sportskeeda, Merson has tipped his former club to win 3-1 tomorrow night.
He wrote: ‘If you’re Arsenal, it’s a brilliant time to be playing Liverpool. Should Arsenal win at the Emirates, Liverpool are completely out of the title race! Something is just not right at Liverpool and I can’t see them getting a result here.
‘It’s weird but I’d be more shocked if Liverpool won at Arsenal than Wolves or Leeds winning their games away from home this gameweek. Arsenal’s B team can cause 99% of the sides in this league a problem. That’s how good they are as a squad.’
Merson was also critical of Arne Slot over one substitution he made in stoppage time last weekend, saying: ‘I don’t understand why Arne Slot decided to take Cody Gakpo off after he scored against Fulham. If Gakpo was on the pitch, he picks up Harrison Reed before that incredible late goal. It was such a bad decision from the Liverpool manager.’
Liverpool have already beaten Arsenal this season…
Would Liverpool winning at the Emirates be a bigger shock than Leeds defeating Newcastle at St James’ Park tonight, or Wolves triumphing away to Everton?
The Reds will definitely be underdogs in many people’s eyes tomorrow night, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that they’ve already beaten Arsenal, Real Madrid, Aston Villa and Inter Milan this season and not conceded in any of those games.
It’s results against bottom-half teams which have cost them dearly in the Premier League, and even without Alexander Isak, Mo Salah and potentially Ekitike, Slot still has a strong enough line-up to hold no fear against Mikel Arteta’s side.
It’s rare for Liverpool to be cast in the role of such distinct outsiders for a domestic fixture, and that’s something they must try to use to their advantage.
The onus will be on Arsenal to take the initiative tomorrow night, especially if Man City and Villa both win tonight to narrow the gap to three points, and the Reds might even enjoy a deviation from trying to break down a low-block defence.
We understand why most neutrals would make the Gunners favourites for this fixture, but it’s Slot’s team who are proven title winners and not Arteta’s. This is a golden opportunity to prove the likes of Merson and Sutton wrong, and remind the world as to why LFC are the reigning champions of England!
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