Paul Merson issues warning to two key Arsenal stars ahead Manchester City showdown

Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, the central defenders for Arsenal, have received a warning from Paul Merson that they cannot afford to slumber during Sunday’s crucial matchup against Manchester City.

Prior to this weekend’s games, the top two from the previous two seasons are already in the lead once more.

Arsenal defeated Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable winning machine in both of their Premier League encounters, taking four points away from the champions from the previous campaign.

Mikel Arteta’s men were, however, criticised and accused of playing for the goalless draw they secured during the run-in last term but are likely to employ similar tactics again.

Saliba and Gabriel were imperious in last weekend’s 1-0 north London derby victory against Spurs and Merson believes they will need to be even more alert this weekend in a bid to stop a rampant Erling Haaland.

‘Gabriel and Saliba will want to play against Haaland, someone who is going to go right up against them and wants a battle,’ Merson told Sky Sports.

‘He wants a battle, they want a battle and it works nicely for them. It’s when you get players who keep wanting to drop into the No.10 position and keep coming off the lines and causing Saliba and Gabriel problems of do I go or do I stay.

‘They won’t have that this weekend but they will have to be for 96 or 97 minutes, however long the referee play for, be alive for every second of that football match.

‘They’ve only got to fall asleep for one second and if their concentration goes and the crosses are going to be a lot better than they were against Spurs.

‘They fall asleep then Haaland scores and that’s the end of the game.’

The Gunners must first content with Atalanta in the Champions League this evening and Arteta is anticipating a stiff examination of his side.

‘It’s very difficult to play against them!’ he said. ‘They have a particular playing style which you see week-in, week-out and it’s very challenging for opponents coming up against them.

‘In the last two seasons, the Premier League has changed a lot, you’ve got a lot of squads that are doing similar things to them and we need to be prepared ahead of tomorrow.’

Subscribe To ANE Talk Trends On Youtube

Subscribe To All Naija Entertainment On Youtube