Paul Merson wowed by ‘brilliant’ Arsenal star after teammate’s mishap vs Sunderland
Arsenal were lucky not to go behind against Sunderland early on in their Premier League clash this Saturday.
Mikel Arteta’s side are in pole position to win the Premier League, with Manchester City and others behind them continuing to drop points every few weeks.
Arsenal have stayed solid, particularly at home, as the Gunners were looking for revenge at the Emirates Stadium after Regis Le Bris’ side stole a point in the reverse fixtures earlier in the season.
However, Arteta may be thanking Kai Havertz that his side wasn’t trailing at halftime.
Paul Merson hails Kai Havertz’ goal-line clearance after David Raya spill
Havertz has been out injured, and his return will act as a huge boost for the Gunners from now until the end of the season.
The German is most useful in the final third, and his defensive abilities have rarely been on display, apart from a goal-saving stop against Sunderland.
While speaking live on Gilette Soccer Saturday, Paul Merson was left stunned after Havertz spared David Raya‘s blushes when he spilt the ball from a Sunderland corner.
Merson said: “Raya comes for it and is nowhere near it, it’s headed down and it comes down to Brian Brobbey, who hits it towards the empty goal.
“Should be 1-0 Sunderland, big, big chance – really it is off the line. It’s brilliant from Havertz.”
The incident only occurred eight minutes in, and it could have changed the course of the game.
Sunderland have really proved to be a danger to the Gunners this season, and Arteta will be glad that he won’t have to face the Black Cats again.
What Mikel Arteta got wrong in team selection vs Sunderland
Arsenal showed a lack of penetration in the first half of the contest, and rarely threatened Robin Roefs in the Sunderland goal.
Arteta was without Bukayo Saka, but he had plenty of other quality at his disposal. The Spaniard started with Leandro Trossard on the left, but had Gabriel Martinelli sitting on the bench.
The Brazilian’s pace was needed to break down Le Bris’s solid backline, and regardless of the changes that Arteta made, he got it wrong with his team selection.
Arsenal’s goal only came through a moment of magic from Martin Zubimendi, and without it, the Gunners could have been in trouble.
An expected goal tally of 0.28 just isn’t good enough, and on another day, the Gunners could have had a much more frustrating result.