{"id":1836,"date":"2026-02-28T21:03:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:03:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news678.top\/?p=1836"},"modified":"2026-02-28T21:03:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T21:03:42","slug":"paul-merson-says-67-5m-arsenal-star-will-be-the-x-factor-in-title-race-with-man-city-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=1836","title":{"rendered":"Paul Merson says \u00a367.5m Arsenal star will be the ‘X-factor’ in title race with Man City | Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paul Merson is confident that one Arsenal player can be the \u2018X-factor\u2019 for Mikel Arteta\u2019s side as they look to hold off Manchester City and win the Premier League.<\/p>\n

The title race has ebbed and flowed throughout the season but looks set to go right down to the final weeks of the campaign.<\/p>\n

City have blown hot and cold this season, but a hard-fought 1-0 win over Leeds United on Saturday evening saw them move within two points of Arsenal at the top of the table.<\/p>\n

The Gunners will have the chance to restore their five-point lead on Sunday, but face a potentially tricky encounter at home against fifth-place Chelsea.<\/p>\n

And Merson said his former side should expect a tough test against the Blues, who are fighting hard to keep themselves in the mix for Champions League qualification next season.<\/p>\n

\u2018For me, I think they\u2019ve got to take the game to Chelsea,\u2019 he said on Sky Sports. \u2018Chelsea will probably sit back like they did in the semi-final and soak it up and try and get Arsenal on the counter-attack. <\/p>\n

\u2018But yeah, big, big football match this. I think if Arsenal win this game, you could tick another big team off that they\u2019ve beaten.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Mikel Arteta\u2019s side are two points clear at the top of the table (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Arsenal should head into the encounter with plenty of confidence after their dominant 4-1 win over arch-rivals Tottenham last weekend.<\/p>\n

It was a particularly productive derby day for Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze, who both scored twice to make it a tough first outing for new Spurs boss, Igor Tudor.<\/p>\n

Eze now has five goals in his two games against Tottenham this season, but has otherwise not hit those same heights in an Arsenal shirt for large swathes of the season.<\/p>\n

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Eberechi Eze scored a brace against Tottenham last weekend (Picture: Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Merson, though, believes there is far more to come from Eze in an Arsenal shirt, and said the 27-year-old could be one of the key players for the Gunners in the final ten games of the season.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a hard position to play, the 10,\u2019 ha added. \u2018You don\u2019t just put someone in there and go, \u2018go and do what you want. You\u2019ve got to make things happen\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019ve got to find pockets and Eze\u2019s very good at that. I thought that was what he was bought for, was to get in those little pockets.<\/p>\n

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\u2018If you get him on the ball, he can turn, he\u2019s elegant, he goes past people like they\u2019re not there.<\/p>\n

\u2018That game was perfect for Arteta. They win the game 4-1 and Gyokeres gets two goals and Eze scores two. If you could pick two players you want to score the goals, that would be it. <\/p>\n

\u2018If these two hit fire until the end of the season, Arsenal win the league if they can go and be 8 out of 10 every week.<\/p>\n

\u2018We said at the start of the season, when Eze got bought, he was the X Factor. He was the one that was going to get them over the line and I still think that could be the case, as long as he plays and Arteta trusts him.\u2019<\/p>\n

But asked if Eze has the full trust of Arteta yet, Merson replied: \u2018No, I don\u2019t think he does trust a lot of people. I think Arteta plays on sparks, where he\u2019ll watch someone, they\u2019ll do something wrong, and then you\u2019re out of the team.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019ve seen it with Calafiori not long ago. He had a nightmare game, gets ripped off, and doesn\u2019t play again. <\/p>\n

\u2018Eze gets caught on the far post against Matty Cash at Aston Villa and don\u2019t really play again. You\u2019ve got to give them a chance. Trust in them more, these players. I don\u2019t think he does that enough, in my opinion.\u2019<\/p>\n

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