Sky Sports Pundit Offers Predicted Score For Arsenal & Tottenham Games This Weekend

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has offered his predicted scores ahead of Arsenal’s clash with West Ham and Tottenham’s game with Swansea this weekend.

The Gunners will be looking to bounce back from their League Cup defeat to Southampton in midweek when they travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham on Saturday evening.

Arsene Wenger’s men stayed in touch at the top of the Premier League table after beating Bournemouth 3-1 at the Emirates last weekend so they’ll need a positive result against their London rivals tomorrow in order to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea.

The Hammers on the other hand held Manchester United to a fortunate 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the league last Sunday but crashed to a 4-1 defeat against Jose Mourinho’s men in the EFL Cup four days later.

Merson doesn’t think this is going to be an easy game for his former side but given West Ham’s poor form so far this season, he thinks Arsenal are going to just edge this one on Saturday.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Merson said:

What is happening at West Ham? They came away with a point at Old Trafford but didn’t deserve it. They rode their luck and then they were so poor in the cup game.

However, this isn’t a gimme for Arsenal as West Ham will make them work hard for it and it could be interesting to see if Andy Carroll is fit to start. He will cause problems.

It’s easy to forget that Arsenal struggled for long periods against Bournemouth and Sunderland. But I fancy they may just nick this one.

PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2

BACK ARSENAL TO BEAT WEST HAM AT CRAZY ODDS OF 6/1

So Merson feels Arsenal are going to collect all three points at West Ham but Tottenham will be looking to keep pace with their north London rivals with a win when they entertain Swansea at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have struggled to pick up wins of late and slumped to their first league defeat of the season with a 2-1 loss at Chelsea last weekend, which leaves them sitting fifth in the table and four points adrift of Arsenal.

However, Merson feels that Spurs were unfortunate to lose at Stamford Bridge last weekend and should be able to see off Swansea tomorrow with a convincing 3-0 win.

He continued in his column for Sky Sports:

Swansea last weekend, blimey! Every time there was a corner or free-kick the referee should have just given a goal. It was a shambles of a match. It was entertaining but to think that Swansea have turned a corner would be madness.

I’ve got to go with Tottenham here. For 44 minutes against Chelsea they were phenomenal. However, they’ve only won one of their last 10 games – that’s a bit of a worry. That said, this looks a very winnable match.

PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0

BACK SPURS TO BEAT SWANSEA AT CRAZY ODDS OF 4/1

We’ll have to wait and see whether Merson’s predictions prove accurate but wins for Arsenal and Tottenham would ensure they stay in touch at the top of the table and maintain their advantage over sixth-placed Manchester United.