Paul Merson says he has a concern about two Arsenal players ahead of the new Premier League season

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Arsenal are looking to go one step further this season after successive second-place finishes in the Premier League.

The Gunners lost out to Manchester City in each of the last two seasons but will look to learn from their mistakes this time around.

No team conceded fewer Premier League goals than Arsenal (29) last season and the Gunners further bolstered their backline with the addition of Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna.

However, Paul Merson believes Mikel Arteta‘s side could face problems on the other end of the pitch, particularly with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

Merson has Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz worry

Ahead of the new Premier League season, Merson believes Arsenal are not short of options up front, with Jesus and Havertz set to compete with one another to lead the line.

The Arsenal legend, however, believes the pair haven’t delivered the end product in terms of goals, which could emerge as a bit of a worry as they look to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title.

“Mikel Arteta has options up front at the moment with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz,” Merson wrote in his weekly column for Sportskeeda.

“If Erling Haaland stays fit, however, I don’t think Jesus and Havertz could score as many goals as him put together – that’s the worry.”

Haaland scored 27 Premier League goals to seal his second successive Golden Boot last season and is likely to be up there once again in the upcoming campaign.

Do Arsenal need additions in attack?

Arsenal have enough numbers in attack but it could be argued that most of their existing options – barring Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard – can do a lot better in terms of their end product.

Jesus scored just four Premier League goals last season as he struggled with injuries and inconsistency.

Havertz, on the other hand, featured 37 times in the Premier League after moving to the club from Chelsea and scored 13 goals. Although that is a creditable tally, it’s not quite enough for a starting centre-forward playing for a title-chasing side.

Gabriel Martinelli is another player who will look to better his tally of six Premier League goals from last season, while it remains to be seen if Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson secure transfer before deadline day.

Arsenal are ready to sell Nketiah for £25m and Nelson is keen on a move to another Premier League club in search of regular game time.

The Gunners could dip into the market if the pair are sold but could find it difficult to sign quality players at this stage of the transfer window.

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