Paul Merson believes that Aston Villa are Premier League title contenders if they beat Arsenal on Saturday evening.
Aston Villa secured their 14th successive home victory on Wednesday night when they toppled Manchester City.
It was an incredible performance from Unai Emery’s side, who didn’t give the champions a moment of peace and managed to keep an imperious Erling Haaland relatively quiet.
The Norwegian’s two shots on target in succession in the 11th minute were the only strikes that City registered on goal in the entire match.
Having managed to nullify Pep Guardiola’s star-studded attack, Emery now has to devise a plan to stop Arsenal’s devastating trio of Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.
They’ve contributed to 18 of the Gunners 33 Premier League goals this term, but that won’t scare a Villa defence that has the joint second-best home defence in the division – five goals conceded.
And Paul Merson, who played for both clubs during his career, believes that Villa are contenders for the title if they make it 15 consecutive home wins.
He said: “This is a massive football match. It could have such a big impact on the Premier League title race.
“If Aston Villa can go and back up their win over Man City and beat Arsenal, defeating the winners and runners-up from last season in four days, you have to give them a chance.”
Is Paul Merson right to put Aston Villa in the title conversation?
After making such a blistering start to the season, it is difficult to ignore the dynasty that Emery is building and the statistics suggest talk of Villa being in the title race isn’t far-fetched.
In the Premier League this season, only Manchester City (36) have scored more goals than the Villans which implies they possess the firepower to blow away teams.
Much of that total has come from talisman Ollie Watkins who has plundered an impressive eight goals and supplied eight assists in 15 appearances.
Every title-chasing team needs a prolific striker and Watkins is in the form of his life having grown into his potential since Emery arrived.
This is demonstrated by the fact that Haaland (14) is the only striker in the league’s top four to have outscored the 27-year-old this term.
If he can continue firing in goals for fun, Villa pose a devastating threat on the counter that can rival any team in the division.
And whilst supporters won’t get carried away with their excellent start, it remains to be seen whether they’ll be sucked into the title hype with a victory over Arsenal.
