In his latest Sky Sportscolumn, Paul Merson looks ahead to Saturday’s “huge” game between Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Both teams are winless in the Premier League, with Spurs looking for their first league goal of the season.
Read below for the Magic Man’s thoughts on the “momentum swinger” game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as he also assesses Arsenal’s chances of defending their Premier League title.
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Mindset and confidence are Spurs’ key problems
“The first 15, 20 minutes I thought they [Spurs] were outstanding [vs Everton].
“I thought the way they passed it, moved it, it caused problems for Everton. But they didn’t get that goal. And when they don’t get that goal, then that mindset sets in again.
“I think they’d still be playing now [without scoring], wouldn’t they? That is the problem. They need to score early. And confidence is the thing as well.
“I say any footballer, I don’t care if you’re under-10s or professional, if you can bottle one thing, it’s confidence.
“And at the moment, they just haven’t got that confidence and the belief. And that’s the problem, that belief.”
Are Villa genuine relegation contenders?
“No. I think they [Villa] have too many good players, if I’m being honest. I think it was a terrible result against Nottingham Forest. It was worrying.
“They were dominating but couldn’t score a goal. But I’d be shocked if they got relegated.
“They’ve got too many good players, and they’ve got one of the best managers in the business. They’re just having a little bit of a time at the moment.
“I do think this is a big game this weekend [vs Tottenham], though. It’s a huge game. Down at the bottom, if you’re down there, you’re down there.
“I don’t worry about Tottenham or Villa, but I think it’s a big game for both teams because it’s a momentum swinger.
“You win it, then you can kick on after the international break. It’s a big football match.”
Arsenal will defend title comfortably
“I think they [Arsenal] will win the Premier League by double digits. I think they’ll win it easy.
“I look at Arsenal’s fixtures: Man City away, Man Utd away, Chelsea away, Liverpool away. After those four games, I don’t know who’s beating Arsenal.
“They’re just a hard, hard team to beat. I don’t see them losing a lot of football matches this season.
“The shackles are off a bit. No one can call Arsenal bottle jobs any more. So the pressure is off.
“And they just play with that feeling like they’ve had an email through and told them, ‘you know what the score is going to be already’.
“I just watched them against Villa, and you watch them against Sunderland, and there’s no panic.
“They play; it’s patient. They will score in the end and the opposition won’t. That is the way they are at the moment.”
