MANCHESTER — Paul Merson says Premier League leaders Manchester City have "no way" of winning the title if they continue their chaotic style, despite extending their perfect start to five wins from five with a 5-3 victory over Sunderland. City, under Enzo Maresca, lead reigning champions Arsenal by three points heading into a three-week international break after Arsenal were thumped 3-0 by Brighton on Saturday.
"There's no way Manchester City win the league," Merson said. "You can't keep scoring loads of goals to win football matches. You can't play that kind of football. Top teams will pick you off." He noted Sunderland are not the most high-scoring team in the country but scored three goals and could have had more, adding: "Going forward, Manchester City were good but at the back they were all over the place. It just catches up with you, especially against the big boys."
Merson said the result would not have pleased Maresca, recalling his time at Chelsea: "He won't like that result. He doesn't like chaos. He's not a chaos manager." He also downplayed City's win at Old Trafford with 10 men against Manchester United, saying City were "all over the place 11 versus 11, and United were by far the better team." He added that with 10 vs 11 you can sit back in two banks of four and leave Erling Haaland up front, which is hard to break down.
Merson also questioned Mikel Arteta's selection for Arsenal's defeat at Brighton, asking why he played Bruno Guimaraes over Myles Lewis-Skelly. "It just didn't work. Arsenal got outrun, they got overpowered in midfield, they got ripped to shreds," he said. He wondered if Arteta was "sitting on the coach on the way back thinking: 'I've got that one wrong.'" Merson stressed he was not blaming Guimaraes, calling him a good, intelligent passer who was outstanding as a substitute against Aston Villa, but said Brighton were "absolutely brilliant."
Despite Arsenal's heavy defeat, Merson suggested the Gunners remain in control of the title race if City fail to tighten defensively. The defensive vulnerability exposed in Man City's 5-3 win over Sunderland is, in his view, unsustainable against top opposition after the international break.