Merson: Arsenal 'won't beat Bayern Munich' and Eze 'might not make it'

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Paul Merson does not believe Arsenal have the firepower to beat Bayern Munich on Wednesday, arguing that the narrow win over Nottingham Forest showed a side that has reverted to cautious, low scoring football since the defeat to Brighton.

Writing in his Sky Sports column, Merson said the Brighton loss had rattled Arsenal and pushed them back towards a more rigid, defensively solid approach rather than the expansive football they showed earlier in the season.

“The defeat to Brighton has scared Arsenal,” Merson wrote. “After winning the league, they came out and played some entertaining football, but then that result happened and they've gone back to being an efficient machine. It frightened them and they've reverted to type. And the type is that they won't let in any goals, and they'll make an opportunity to score a goal, and that's exactly what they did at Nottingham Forest.”

Merson was particularly critical of the performance at the City Ground, despite the result going Arsenal's way. “I don't think I've ever seen a game where a team has that much possession and still doesn't look like scoring a goal in a month of Sundays,” he said. “It was as bad as it gets.” He added that Bruno Guimaraes “has got to play in every game” given his passing range, and suggested opposition teams have worked out that sitting back against Arsenal is an effective tactic.

Merson on Bayern Munich test

Looking ahead to Wednesday's Champions League clash, Merson was blunt about Arsenal's chances. “I just can't see how they beat Bayern Munich this week,” he wrote. “If I was Bayern, I'd just open the game up and just say you have a shot, we have a shot because there'll only be one winner.”

He questioned whether Kai Havertz or Viktor Gyokeres possess the “X factor” needed at the top level of the Champions League, saying he does not see either as a “difference maker” against Europe's elite sides. Despite that, Merson still expects Arsenal to win the Premier League title, reasoning that “Arsenal just need one” goal to win matches compared to Manchester City needing two.

Eze's struggles at a 'big club'

Merson also addressed Eberechi Eze's difficult spell in an Arsenal shirt, after the forward was withdrawn at half time against Forest. Eze has scored 11 goals in 61 appearances for Arsenal.

“You've got to perform at Arsenal. You've got to play in a shape. You can't just play your own game,” Merson wrote, contrasting the demands at Arsenal with Eze's role at Crystal Palace, where “everything goes through him”. He pointed to a similar half time substitution during last season's trip to Aston Villa as evidence of a pattern. “I don't know if he'll get the chance because as soon as he doesn't do well, he's off,” Merson added, pointing to the depth of options available to Mikel Arteta.

Arsenal's response to Merson's doubts will begin to take shape when Bayern Munich arrive in the Champions League on Wednesday, a fixture he has described as a genuine measuring stick for where the squad stands against Europe's leading sides.