"This could be their problem" - Paul Merson names the one Arsenal player he's worried about in the PL title race this season

Paul Merson believes Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko could hinder his side's chances of winning the Premier League this season. The former Gunners forward criticized the Ukraine international's defending, particularly during the club's 1-1 draw against Liverpool last weekend.

After the addition of Declan Rice in the summer, Merson thinks the north London outfit have a good chance in this season's title race. The pundit told Sky Sports (as quoted by the Daily Mail):

"Arsenal are a different team now. They've learned a lot from last season and Declan Rice has taken them to another level. I think they will go on and win it now."

However, he claimed Zinchenko cannot perform in big games. Merson added:

"This could be their problem: The left-back. That's poor defending [against Liverpool]. That's my worry. I think they need Zinchenko for games against bottom-half teams, where they can go and play and dominate the game, but when they play the big boys [they don't]."

Merson further stated on Arsenal's upcoming Premier League fixtures:

"They are nice fixtures [coming up against West Ham, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest]. They should win all four. If they don't, you're not entitled to win the Premier League. You've got to beat those teams and then the big games look after themselves."

Zinchenko has made 17 Premier League appearances for the Gunners so far this season, recording a goal and an assist each in the process.

Arsenal are currently second in the table, two points behind league leaders Liverpool, who've played their match (2-0 win over Burnley) for this gameweek. A win for the Gunners in their upcoming fixture against West Ham United on Thursday, December 28, would see them move back to the apex.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirms five players set to miss West Ham clash

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kai Havertz will miss their clash against the Hammers.

The Ghana international and the Japanese defender remain injured and with the AFCON Cup and Asia Cup imminent, the pair will not be available for a while. Havertz is serving a suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Liverpool.

Jurrien Timber and Fabio Vieira are on the sidelines as well, the former out with a knee injury and the latter a groin issue. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta was asked whether Tomiyasu or Partey would take part against West Ham. He said (via Football365):

“No nothing has changed yet. We’re not going to have those two, then we have the suspension of Kai, so I think we’re gonna have five out, but we have lots of other players willing to play.”