Paul
Merson says it was actually Chelsea who emerged the real winners from
Manchester United's draw with Arsenal - and reckons Frank Lampard's side
could dominate English football in the next few years.
Chelsea the real winners on MNF
There is a long way to go. The teams you are asking to finish in the top six
- Leicester and West Ham - it is a big ask for them. Certain players have to
stay fit for them, so I think it is between Chelsea, United and Arsenal who
will finish in the top four.
The cream always comes to the top - they (United and Arsenal) are not
playing well at the moment, but over 38 games, you are asking Leicester and
West Ham to do something special the way the gulf is at the moment.
There is not going to be a lot between Chelsea, United and Arsenal, so
fourth to sixth could be six points. It is not going to be like it has been
over the years where the top four are 10-15 points ahead of everybody else.
Chelsea are a younger team, they have youth on their side. I am not saying
it is a shoo-in they will finish in the top four this season, and if they do
not, it is not the end of the world for Chelsea.
But for the other teams, it could be a bit of a problem. I would probably
say Arsenal, but only just (to make the top four). There were two nervous
football teams at Old Trafford on Monday night with a lot of pressure on
them. They could not handle the pressure very well and it was a very hard
game to watch.
The future is Chelsea
From a distance it looks like Chelsea have been planning this season for the
last five years. I'm not sure whether this is the greatest plan ever or
whether they stumbled across it, either way they are looking good.
It's the stuff of dreams; Frank Lampard retires, takes the job at Derby,
Chelsea will get a transfer embargo and then all of the kids that have been
ripping it up on loan return to the club and everything falls into place.
In two or three years' time, this Chelsea team will be dictating the Premier
League, mark my words. All of their young players would have played 100-odd
games together by then and, if they continue in the same vein, their
countries too.
Kepa is a good young goalkeeper. The best compliment I can pay him is that
if you were sitting next to him in a restaurant you wouldn't know who he
was. That tells you how many mistakes he makes, he doesn't make a lot. He
just does his job, goes home and then comes back and does his job again.
There's Reece James, who will be in the first team sooner rather than later,
he's a proper player. Fikayo Tomori is very good, just look at how he
handled Mohamed Salah last week. There's Ruben Loftus-Cheek who is yet to
come back, Ross Barkley, who plays for England already, Mason Mount, Tammy
Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
What makes it all the more remarkable is that if Chelsea weren't under a
transfer embargo, most of the young players we're seeing would probably be
on loan, and Chelsea wouldn't be relishing the bright future that's in front
of them.
PL record out of Reds' reach?
With Leicester, Manchester United and Tottenham up next for Liverpool, it's
going to be a big ask for Jurgen Klopp's side to break Manchester City's
record of 18 consecutive Premier League wins.
Leicester are flying at the moment, are full of confidence and play in a
manner that can cause Liverpool problems. They should rinse Manchester
United on paper, but you know it won't necessarily be that easy, and then
another tough game against Spurs.
Those games come in and around some crucial Champions League games and an
international break, and Europe surely takes precedence at this stage for
Liverpool after they lost to Napoli in the opening game.
Liverpool were absolutely outstanding in the first half against Chelsea, but
they are not going to be able to maintain that level of performance all the
time. We saw that at Stamford Bridge where they rode their luck a good few
times and the same thing happened at Sheffield United.
You cannot keep riding your luck, I didn't see Liverpool riding their luck
too many times last season, if ever.
The positive thing for Liverpool is that I just don't see them losing a game
to any side in the bottom half, so if they win those three matches, they
will keep on ticking the tough games off, and before you know it there won't
be many more to tick off.
Were they to do that, it would go a long way to ending their 30-year wait
for the title.
Tottenham show times have changed
There's a lot going on a Spurs at the moment but boy was that a good result.
It just goes to show you how much football has changed over the years.
When I was playing, if you went down to 10 men that was the end of your
chances of getting a win, you may have hung on for a draw. But in the last
two weeks we've seen two sides go down to 10 men, one when they were already
losing and the other when the scores were level, and both went on to win the
match.
It's phenomenal how fit modern-day players are but from a Southampton
perspective, it's disgraceful losing in those circumstances. Fair play to
Tottenham, even at this early stage their season was on the line and they
dug a result out.
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