Sky Sports’ Paul Merson says Arsenal can beat Paris Saint-Germain over two legs in the Champions League semi-final, and have a “massive opportunity” to win the tournament.
The Gunners face the Ligue 1 side at the Emirates on Tuesday evening after a six-day break since their previous game against Crystal Palace, with the return leg the following Wednesday at the Parc des Princes.
The two sides have already faced each other this season in Europe, with Arsenal winning 2-0 at the Emirates in the league phase.
But PSG’s form has improved since, beating Liverpool and Aston Villa in the last two knockout rounds, and Luis Enrique’s side will be hoping to take their third Premier League scalp to reach the Munich final.
Here, former Arsenal favourite Merson offers his views on the upcoming tie and why Mikel Arteta’s side can emerge victorious…
‘Arsenal have every chance of beating PSG’
Arsenal beat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals
“I think Arsenal win over two legs. We still get carried away with the PSG of the first leg against Liverpool. When they played at the Parc des Princes, they were outstanding – but they lost that game 1-0, and they were hanging on at Anfield.
“Then they go and dominate Aston Villa and scored with the last kick of the game, which worked out to be a priceless goal in the end to go 3-1 up. At Villa Park, it got to stages where you’re thinking there’s only one winner here and that’s Aston Villa. They had them on the rack.
PSG have already knocked out Liverpool and Aston Villa this season
“Arsenal have every chance.
“I like what’s happened [with Arsenal’s fixtures] because so many teams we see in Europe put all their league fixtures around the Champions League and here, we don’t do that.
“Probably for the first time for a long time, an English team has got a real nice break before they play this game, which is refreshing.”
‘Arsenal have to be more consistent next season’
Arsenal play Bournemouth in the Premier League on May 3 in between their two legs against PSG, live on Saturday Night Football. There were also some questions over Mikel Arteta’s team selection in Wednesday’s draw against Crystal Palace…
“I personally think they will have to forget about the Bournemouth game. They’ve got a massive opportunity [in the Champions League] and they are not going to finish outside the top five. They will have enough games left.
Saturday 3rd May 5:00pm
Kick off 5:30pm
“The next two games against Paris Saint-Germain are absolutely huge. They’ve got an unbelievable opportunity to win in the Champions League, which they’ve never done before.
“If Arsenal want to win the Premier League, and that is really the aim, this is going to happen every season. If you’re a good team, you’re going to go deep into competitions. You need squad players and you need to perform week in, week out.
I want Arsenal to win for Mikel Arteta. Being there five years, he needs that big trophy. He needs one.
“Mikel Arteta’s worry would be, ‘if we’re second in the league and we’re two points behind, we can’t have performances like this [against Crystal Palace]’. That’s why you have to show so much respect to Man City for what they’ve done over the last few years of consistently churning out results, winning league titles, going deep in the Champions League, even winning it.
“Next season, they’ll have to be a lot more consistent. It’s drifted away in that way, but they can say they’ve put all their eggs into this Champions League now.
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Highlights of the Premier League match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace.
“These opportunities don’t come along too often. It’s a semi-final against PSG and Arsenal already beat them in the group stages. It’s a massive opportunity.
“I’d have rested a few more players [against Crystal Palace], if I’m being honest. If [William] Saliba would have got injured, you could have written the Champions League off. They would have had no centre-half. I thought he put out a decently strong team, considering how big the game is on Tuesday night.”
‘Leeds should look at Sterling’
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Paul Merson says newly promoted Leeds United should have a look at Raheem Sterling, and admits the Arsenal forward’s time is up at the Emirates Stadium.
“It’s hard. Raheem’s been playing football all the time. At Arsenal, he’s coming in for a game here and a game there. When he has come in, it’s not Arsenal’s full team.
“I don’t know where he goes from here. That will be up to him, but you need to consistently play week in, week out to get a rhythm. He’s come in for games where they’ve made changes so it’s not been fluid. I do feel for him, but I think his time at Arsenal will be up.
“If I was a Leeds United, I’d be looking at Raheem. They’re a young team, they like to play attacking football and he’s very good in the dressing room and a good team player.
“He’s got all the experience in the world, he’s won Premier Leagues. He’d be going to a huge club and the expectations are not as high. If they finish 17th in the Premier League next year, they’ve pulled up trees, so that wouldn’t be a bad move.”
