Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal ace, Paul Merson, remains an acquired taste for many, due in no small part for his hot-takes on the game, which often seem a little extreme and reactionary.
Ahead of the Gunners visit to Villa Park and a fixture against Aston Villa which they lost last season, Merson has been at it again.
It’s fair to say that his latest opinion won’t win him any more friends at the Emirates Stadium either.
“This is a massive game. Arsenal got done for the double by Aston Villa last season and that cost them the title,” he said in his Sportskeeda column, as part of his review into the match on Saturday evening.
“If Arsenal lose and Manchester City win this weekend, the Gunners could suffer in the title race. Mikel Arteta’s men also face Tottenham Hotspur and City in September, so it’s not an easy run-in from here.
“If things don’t go their way, Arsenal could even be out of the title race by October! I’m not even exaggerating, the next four fixtures starting with Villa on Saturday are all tough for them.
“If you lose two of them, it’s over. I’m going to go for an Arsenal win but I do think Villa can score.”
Whilst the relentless nature of the way in which Man City go after teams and hoover up trophies is becoming the norm, and a handful of losses could well prove prohibitive to Arsenal, to be dismissing their chances of a first title win in over 20 years at this early stage is downright ridiculous.
It doesn’t take into account how strong the Gunners themselves could be over the campaign, and whether City – or anyone else for that matter – has a serious wobble at some point.
Merson might well look back and wish he’d never uttered the words.