Paul Merson Not Surprised by Arsenal's Opening Defeat & Predicts They'll Lose Again to Chelsea

Former Arsenal star Paul Merson believes his former club will lose the upcoming London derby to Chelsea following their defeat to Manchester City.

Merson also said Gunners fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the club get off to a poor start again under new manager Unai Emery.

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Arsenal finally parted ways with Arsene Wenger at the end of last season after 22 years at the helm. With the club in regression and having missed out on Champions League qualification for a second season running, the board decided it was time for a change of direction.

Former Sevilla and PSG boss Emery was brought in to take the club forward but the Spaniard was not done any favours by the fixture list. Kicking off the season against last year’s runaway champions Manchester City followed by a tough trip to Stamford Bridge this week.

Arsenal got off to a poor start as they were easily bested by Pep Guardiola's side, losing 2-0. Some of the more excitable Gooners have already taken to vent their frustrations that their side will not be competing for honours yet again.

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Sky Sports pundit Merson has this week admitted he was not surprised by the defeat and expects Arsenal to lose again to Chelsea. Making his weekly predictions on Sky Sports Merson said:

“Chelsea had a great result and Arsenal’s was disappointing. I say disappointing but I don’t know what everybody was expecting? That a new manager was going to come in and they’d wipe the floor with Man City?

“I’ll go with Chelsea, 2-1, I think they’ll just have too much for Arsenal.”

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Emery has spent over £70m on his side this summer as he aims for a return to the top four. After his baptism of fire in the Premier League, Emery will need time to get the best out of this squad.

Fans must be patient as the Spaniard must first correct the trajectory before he can compete for honours.