Add as preferred source on Google

Paul Merson has urged manager Mikel Arteta to tell the Arsenal board that this current season is a write off and he feels that the youngsters should be given a chance at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners are preparing for their trip to Everton Saturday evening in the Premier League, where they are so deprecate to try pick up a victory.

Arteta’s team are just five points above the relegation zone in 15th after a miserable league campaign so far, while opponents Everton are around the European positions currently in good form.

Sky Sports pundit and ex-Arsenal forward Merson believes that Arteta needs to communicate with his board by telling them this is a season where they’re building towards the future.

“I feel for the manager. I know the manager is a bit lost at the moment and he is, he’s a young manager coming into the game and he’s got an unbelievable opportunity at Arsenal,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“I’d sit down with the board and go ‘do you know what let’s write this season off, we’re going to stay up, let’s get all these youngsters in now and see how good they are’.

“We keep on saying ‘play the youngsters, play the youngsters’. They’ve got to have 15 games these kids, then see if they’re good enough for next year, then Arsenal build.”

TBR’s View:

There is not a chance Arsenal can throw the towel in 13 league games into the season, as putting together a five-game run of positive results would see them catapult up the table.

It does look extremely bleak right now and Arsenal are too big a club just to allow another season pass them by, which is why they intervened in the past to sack Unai Emery when standards were below par.

There is a great case to be put forward for some of the younger players to get a chance, in particular Joe Willock, Emile Smith-Rowe and Folarin Balogun are banging on the door.

They need to try drag themselves up the table and see some of their experienced stars step up, as there is always the Europa League competition to fall back on as a possible route into the Champions League.