23 September 2023 , 16:50
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Arsenal favourite Paul Merson is adamant that his old side will "absolutely slaughter" Tottenham in Sunday's eagerly anticipated North London derby.
The Gunners host their bitter rivals at the Emirates with both sides level on 13 points: a tally only bettered by Manchester City (15) after five games. Spurs have been reinvigorated under head coach Ange Postecoglou, who has quickly implemented a vibrant, swashbuckling style of play at his new club.
Although Tottenham have been impressive since installing Postecoglou, Arsenal have started the new campaign with a swagger after re-establishing themselves as bonafide title contenders last term. Spurs also have a torrid record in this fixture: they have won just twice on Arsenal's patch in the Premier League era.
And Merson is of the opinion that history will repeat itself at the weekend. He tipped Arsenal to win in style, telling Sky Sports: “I'm bullish, very bullish. I can't see anything but an Arsenal win. I think they will absolutely slaughter them, I do. Absolutely rip them to shreds.
“I don't think [Spurs] will change the way they play. Man United had 14 shots against them in the first half; give Arsenal 14 shots tomorrow and we will see what happens. It's end to end, it's good football, I like the way they play, I like the manager. It's gung-ho football. But you don't play gung-ho football against better players than you.
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“Arsenal have got better players than Tottenham, no question, all over the pitch. You talk about [James] Maddison, good player but you would not take him over [Martin] Odegaard any day of the week. [Yves] Bissouma has done well, but you wouldn't take him over [Declan] Rice, in my opinion.
“All over the pitch they are better players. Not many Spurs players get into this team, and if you open this game up tomorrow then Arsenal will destroy Tottenham. And I mean destroy them.”
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Paul Merson believes Arsenal will "slaughter" Tottenham in the North London derby (Sky Sports)After stagnating under Antonio Conte last year, Postecoglou has breathed new life into Spurs with his attacking approach. And despite Merson's warning, the Australian coach has already outlined that the game plan will stay the same on Sunday.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Postecoglou said: “We’re going to go out and play our football. If you want to be a team that challenges, you have to play that [attacking] way, irrespective of the opponent. There’s no point not using a game like Sunday as a measure to see where we’re at.
“If we shy away from it, don’t play our football, manage to get a draw, what have we really learned apart from surviving 90 minutes of football? Nothing.”