{"id":325965,"date":"2025-12-02T12:09:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T12:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/325965\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T12:09:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T12:09:09","slug":"paul-merson-makes-bold-title-claim-after-arsenal-draw-with-chelsea-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/325965\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Merson makes bold title claim after Arsenal draw with Chelsea | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"Manchester
\n\t\tArsenal legend Paul Merson (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Paul Merson<\/a> has backed Chelsea<\/a> to finish above Manchester City<\/a> this season but believes Arsenal<\/a> will still win the Premier League<\/a> title \u2018easily\u2019.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s top-of-the-table clash between Arsenal and Chelsea finished 1-1<\/a> with Mikel Merino<\/a> cancelling out Trevoh Chalobah<\/a>\u2019s opener at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

Chelsea started brightly but were dealt a major blow just before half-time as superstar midfielder Moises Caicedo was sent off for a late tackle on Merino<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The hosts recovered from the setback to take a surprise lead after the break \u2013 Trevoh Chalobah heading home to score just the seventh goal that Arsenal have conceded this season.<\/p>\n

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Premier League leaders Arsenal responded well and equalised through Merino\u2019s header but could not find a winner, returning to north London with just a point.<\/p>\n

The derby stalemate leaves Arsenal five points clear at the top of the Premier League, with second and third-placed Manchester City and Chelsea separated by just a point.<\/p>\n

Arsenal will look to return to winning ways on Wednesday when another London rival, Brentford, visit the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Chelsea
\n\t\tChelsea celebrate their goal against Arsenal (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

Merson expects his former club to brush aside the Bees and insists he \u2018can\u2019t see anybody touching Arsenal\u2019 in the title race.<\/p>\n

\u2018Arsenal have dropped points against Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, but they are winning against everyone else and that is making a difference,\u2019 Merson told Sportskeeda<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you told Arsenal at the start of the season that they were going to have a run where they face Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea in the space of a week and come away with two wins and a draw, they would have taken it all day long.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Manchester City are still the closest challengers for Arsenal and they were nowhere near good against Leeds.<\/p>\n

\u2018Even after the draw against Chelsea, I can\u2019t see anybody touching Arsenal at the top of the table. If they can look after their players well, I think they can easily win the league this season.<\/p>\n

\u2018A comfortable win against Brentford at home is coming up. I\u2019m going for Arsenal 3-0.\u2019<\/p>\n

Merson was \u2018impressed\u2019 by Chelsea\u2019s performance against the title favourites and says Enzo Maresca will be \u2018super happy\u2019 with the result.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Chelsea
\n\t\tEnzo Maresca after Chelsea\u2019s draw with Arsenal (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n

While he doubts Chelsea\u2019s title credentials, Merson says the Blues can finish above second-placed Man City and expects their momentum to continue when they face Leeds United on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019ve got to be impressed by the way in which\u00a0Chelsea\u00a0played against Arsenal,\u2019 Merson added.<\/p>\n

\u2018To have your best player, your engine, sent off and still play that kind of football against a team like Arsenal, Enzo Maresca will be super happy.<\/p>\n

\u2018We always say Chelsea are a very young team, but they have a lot of players who are full internationals for their country. Despite being young, most of them have considerable experience playing at senior level.<\/p>\n

\u2018Looking at Chelsea\u2019s squad, they surely have it in them to finish above Manchester City this season.<\/p>\n

\u2018Leeds is a big game for Chelsea fans because they don\u2019t get along very well with their Leeds counterparts. It\u2019s a rivalry that stretches back to the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\u2018Elland Road will be rocking and Chelsea will have to be careful. In the first 20 minutes, the crowd will be firmly behind Leeds and the hosts will be buzzing.<\/p>\n

\u2018Chelsea must weather that early storm and then they can play their football and go on to win it.\u2019<\/p>\n

For more stories like this,\u00a0check our sport page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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