Paul Merson believes neither Manchester City nor Manchester United are capable of rivalling Arsenal in this season’s Premier League title race.
Arsenal will begin their title defence on Friday against newly-promoted Coventry City at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s side have added more depth this summer with the signings of Bruno Guimaraes, Christian Tzolis and Illan Meslier, with Ezri Konsa also expected to sign for the defending champions in the coming days.
The Gunners have already laid down a marker with their comprehensive win over Manchester City in the Community Shield last weekend.
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And Merson believes that his former side are ‘comfortable’ favourites heading into the new season.
‘I just can’t see anybody stopping Arsenal,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘They’ll win it quite comfortably. I don’t see a single weakness in them regarding the Premier League.
‘They do have a few weaknesses in the Champions League but for the Premier League, they remind me of when Manchester City first started dominating the league: two players in every position.
‘William Saliba and Gabriel are unbelievable but then Cristhian Mosquera comes in and you wouldn’t even think Saliba was missing. Jurrien Timber is out but Ben White comes in [against City] and keeps Jeremy Doku quiet.
‘I just don’t see anybody touching Arsenal at the moment. The only ones who can beat Arsenal are themselves.’
It has been a busy off-season for virtually all of Arsenal’s potential title rivals, with a slew of managerial changes ahead of the new season.
Enzo Maresca is back at Manchester City, while Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso have been tasked with improving the fortunes of Liverpool and Chelsea after their respective poor domestic campaigns last season.
But Merson believes that City may find it hard to adapt to life without Pep Guardiola and midfield maestro Rodri following his departure to Barcelona.
‘After watching the Community Shield, I said the one thing Manchester City cannot do is sell Rodri, he added. ‘And they did it after the game.
‘I just don’t see them competing with Arsenal this season.
‘There were some positives for them in that game, but over 38 games, I just don’t see how Manchester City will be able to live with Arsenal.’
Paul Merson’s predicted top-six for this season
- Arsenal
- Liverpool
- Chelsea
- Manchester City
- Tottenham
- Manchester United
Similarly, Merson finds it hard to envisage a title challenge from United as they prepare for their first full season with Michael Carrick at the helm.
No team picked up more points than United in the league following Carrick’s appointment in January, earning 39 points from his 17 games.
But Merson fears that a lack of squad depth and the added pressures of Champions League football will take its toll, insisting: ‘I just worry about Manchester United with Europe.
‘We saw it last season at times – their squad is wafer thin.
‘If Bruno Fernandes got injured, then you’d really worry. And yes, they have Youri Tielemans in there but I don’t see a dominant midfield.
‘Manchester United will have their ups and downs – and I don’t expect them to be challengers. It’s too early for that.’
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