Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes that Tottenham are already out of the race for the Premier League title after just the third week of the season.
Writing in his weekly column for Sky Sports News, the former Arsenal defender thinks that following Spurs’ shock 1-0 loss to Newcastle over the weekend that Mauricio Pochettino’s side are all but out of the race for the title.
Merson said: “They are out of the title race already, five points behind Liverpool with three games played. That may sound harsh, but would you back Spurs to win the league over Liverpool if Liverpool had a five-point head start?
“People go on and on about there being 35 games left but I’m fed up with that rhetoric, five points is a lot of points to make up. As a general rule, it takes five games to make up five points, Liverpool lost once last season and have won every game so far this, so where are Spurs going to bridge the gap?”
Joelinton’s sole goal in the game on Sunday saw Spurs miss out on valuable ground early on in the title race with both Arsenal and Manchester United losing before their clash with Newcastle, a defeat that stings even more considering Tottenham drew with Manchester City the previous week.
Indeed, Merson’s words might hold some truth to them that Spurs are out of the title race, but Liverpool have shown this season that they are not as outstanding as they were last year.
The Gunners have failed to keep a clean sheet in the league this season after three games, and although Jurgen Klopp’s side were able to claim a 3-1 win over Tottenham’s north London rivals, who they play next at the Emirates Stadium, there were still moments in the game where Arsenal looked threatening and could have scored if finishing on the day was better.