Paul Merson makes incredible Arsenal title claim as Liverpool and Manchester City trail

Paul Merson has sensationally claimed the Premier League title race could be ‘done and dusted in the next two weeks’ as Arsenal continue to impress.

Mikel Arteta’s side are the favourites to win the Premier League after winning seven of their first nine league games of the season and moving four points clear of their nearest rivals.

The Gunners have finished as runners-up for the past three seasons but appear even stronger following a productive transfer window.

While Arsenal are not anywhere near as goal-shy as some pundits would have you believe, the team’s real superpower has been a defence which has conceded just three goals in 14 games.

Arsenal’s form has convinced Merson that the Premier League trophy is heading to north London for the first time since 2004.

But Merson has gone one step further and claimed the title race could be ‘done’ before the next international break given Liverpool and Manchester City’s inconsistency.

Arsenal travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley this weekend and Merson cannot see Scott Parker’s side tripping up the league leaders despite their back-to-back wins.

‘It all depends on how quickly Arsenal can break Burnley down,’ Merson told Sportskeeda. ‘We saw how Liverpool struggled to do that for a long time before nicking a late win at Burnley earlier this season.

‘Burnley have performed well at home. They sit back and play to their strengths, which is not a bad thing if you’re a newly-promoted team looking to stay up in this league.

‘The way Arsenal are playing, if Burnley can even get a shot on goal, it’s a job well done! That’s how good Arsenal are.

‘I read this crazy stat the other day – if Arsenal would have conceded a goal from every shot they faced this season, they would still have 13 or 14 points at this stage.

‘That stat is just out of this world. Arsenal have been compared to Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea of the past. The difference between that Chelsea team and Arsenal is that they did it for the whole season.

‘Arsenal have only done it for nine games, and still have three quarters of the season left to play.

If Arsenal want to be as good as that Chelsea team, they have to concede not more than four goals in every nine games coming up. If that happens in this day and age, it will quite simply be unbelievable.

‘I said on 19th September that if Arsenal get four points out of their games against Manchester City and Newcastle United, they win the league.

‘Arsenal did it and I stand by what I said. In fact, the title race could be done and dusted in the next two weeks!

‘They face Burnley and Sunderland before the international break, while Liverpool have Aston Villa and Manchester City.

‘I expect Arsenal to win both them games and I’m not backing Liverpool to win this weekend. If City and Liverpool then take points off each other in gameweek 11, I think Arsenal will win the league quite comfortably.

‘I even believe Arsenal could enjoy a good run in the Champions League because by the time it reaches the latter stages, we could be looking at a situation where they would have sealed the league title already!’

Arsenal’s sensational form continued in midweek as they beat Brighton 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.

Arteta’s side will face Crystal Palace for a place in the semis, with the likes of Man City, Chelsea and holders Newcastle United still in the draw.

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