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Merse: Easier for Arsenal to win PL than CL | Liverpool won't win at PSG

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This would be a nice draw for Arsenal if they had a full team but with no firepower now, I don’t see them blowing PSV away. It's turned into a tricky tie.

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Merson Says © PA

This would be a nice draw for Arsenal if they had a full team but with no firepower now, I don’t see them blowing PSV away. It's turned into a tricky tie.

Arsenal have failed to score in their last two games and they only scored against Leicester, who have been letting goals in for fun, in the last 10 minutes.

I hope Mikel Arteta stops playing Mikel Merino up front. I can't get my head around that one. I know he came on against Leicester and scored twice but Leicester are Leicester, they're not very good.

I would play Raheem Sterling up front. He's lively. Defenders will be happy to play against Merino every day of the week. He's not a centre forward. At least Sterling's played up there before.

Arsenal's Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring their opening goal (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)
Image: Mikel Merino scored twice for Arsenal as a makeshift striker against Leicester

This is going to be a dangerous game. I'd expect Arsenal to go through but I don't think it's as much of a foregone conclusion as what it was. I can see it going a long way.

The title race is gone and this is their season now but even after this, they're right up against it. They've still got to play Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals - and Real would outscore Arsenal.

Then they've got to play Liverpool or whoever in the semi-finals. It's probably easier to win the league and they're 13 points behind.

A bad 45 minutes could send you out of the competition. I don't see Arsenal blowing anybody away in 45 minutes. Arsenal just don't have the firepower to do that.

Liverpool won't win at PSG

Credit - Getty/PA/AP Photo
Image: Paris Saint-Germain take on Liverpool in the Champions League last 16

I don't see Liverpool winning at Paris Saint-Germain - they have to come back with at least a draw.

This is a game where either one of these two teams could finish the tie in 45 minutes if the other one has an off day. That's why this is a good cup tie. Both sides can absolutely rip you apart.

We saw that with PSG in the Man City game, with four goals in the second half, and we've seen Liverpool destroy teams. I don't think there'll be a lot in this.

Goalscorers Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola celebrate during PSG's Champions League clash with Stuttgart
Image: Ousmane Dembele (left) and Bradley Barcola (right) have starred for PSG this season

PSG are a team now. They haven't got loads of superstars anymore.

They've gone in a different direction and it's worked. With all those players they used to have, they never looked like winning the Champions League.

PSG can't afford to lose the first leg because the second leg, with the atmosphere at Anfield, is a different game.

Complacency could trip up Villa

Credit - Getty/AP Photo
Image: Aston Villa take on Club Brugge for the second time this season

It's a good draw for Aston Villa but it'll be a hard game. Club Brugge aren't bad, they ripped Atalanta apart, which was a bit of a shock in my opinion. Brugge beat Villa in the league phase too when Tyrone Mings put his hand on the ball.

I expect Villa to go through but I hope people don't turn up thinking they are through already. Complacency is the one that could do them.

Marco Asensio's been outstanding. He's got big goals in games as well. I know he's done a lot of sitting around recently but he hasn't been at Real Madrid and PSG for no reason. He's done very well.

When someone comes along like that, the biggest compliment you could say is, a lot of clubs will be thinking, 'Why didn't we get him?'

Aston Villa's Marco Asensio celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the English FA Cup fifth round soccer match between Aston Villa and Cardiff City at the Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, England, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)
Image: Marco Asencio has made an instant impact at Aston Villa

Marcus Rashford has done alright, better than I thought he'd do. He would get in Manchester United's team every day of the week so I still don't get it.

Villa haven't missed Jhon Duran but I didn't think they would. He's a super sub. It speaks volumes that Villa turned down a bid for a 29-year-old Ollie Watkins and chose to sell a 21-year-old Jhon Duran. That tells you everything.

Youri Tielemans has been very good. He's always willing to get on the ball. He can see a pass and scores every now and then.

He was a bit in and out at the start but I imagine he's one of the first names on the team sheet now. He's a clever player. Always a steady seven or eight out of 10.

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