Paul Merson Boldly Claims That Harry Redknapp Is Tactically a Better Manager Than Arsène Wenger

Former England midfielder and current Sky Sports panellist Paul Merson is back with another baffling statement.

Appearing on Sky's A League of Their Own, Merse could not express enough how much he appreciates manager Harry Redknapp. Merson played under Redknapp at Portsmouth, where they won the old Division One together in the 2002/2003 season. 

This was Merson's greatest personal football achievement, and credits Redknapp's ability as a manager entirely. 

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"We [Portsmouth] were 33/1 rank outsiders to win the league that year", Merson told host James Corden. "We won our first game at home and I thought we'd be alright and then went to Crystal Palace. We were 2-0 down at half-time and it could've been 10-0.

"Harry came in at half-time and took three men off, put three at the back, five in midfield with three rolling attackers and we won 3-2. That's when I knew he was a great manager."

Fair enough. Redknapp has been a successful manager with an FA Cup win with Portsmouth and a Premier League Manager of the Year Award with Tottenham. However, then things started to get a little surreal.

"Tactically, he's one of the best I've worked with. If Arsène Wenger had Harry Redknapp's tactical nous, Arsenal would win the league."

Social media was quick to respond with laughter and bemusement at Merson's comparison of three-time Premier League and seven-time FA Cup winner Wenger with Harry Redknapp.

Arsenal fans in particular have been quick to point out that while Wenger has won his third FA Cup in four years, Redknapp has recently been sacked by Championship side Birmingham City after six straight defeats.

Merson's role as a pundit on Sky Sports has left fans with many moments of laughter and confusion with his bold and audacious opinions. In particular, his ability to predict the results of matches has often come under fire.

Wenger must have caught wind of Merson's comments as he subsequently mocked the former Arsenal midfielder in his press conference, as reported by the Mirror.

When asked to give his thoughts about the 49-year-old pundit coming out of retirement to play for Welsh fourth-tier team Caerau, Wenger responded: "We speak about professional football here."