Merson: No way Man City win Premier League after chaotic Sunderland win

Merson pours cold water on City title hopes despite perfect start

Paul Merson has delivered a blunt verdict on Manchester City's title credentials, insisting there is "no way" Pep Guardiola's successors can lift the Premier League if they continue to defend as they did in Sunday's chaotic 5-3 victory over Sunderland.

City made it five wins from five under Enzo Maresca with the nine-goal thriller on Wearside, opening up a three-point cushion over reigning champions Arsenal, who were thumped 3-0 by Brighton on Saturday. But Merson believes the manner of the win should set alarm bells ringing at the Etihad.

'There's no way Manchester City win the league'

The former Arsenal midfielder explained that he had expected a convincing City performance to swing momentum firmly their way after Arsenal were "ripped to shreds" at the Amex. Instead, he watched a defensive display that convinced him otherwise.

"I sat there watching the game thinking, 'if Manchester City put on a show and beat Sunderland convincingly, there could be a big momentum swing'," Merson said. "Then I saw City against Sunderland and go, 'no'. There's no way Manchester City win the league. 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."

Sunderland, hardly the most prolific side in the division, scored three and could have had more. "Going forward, Manchester City were good but at the back they were all over the place," Merson added. "It just catches up with you, especially against the big boys."

He also pointed to City's 10-man win at Manchester United as evidence the defensive frailties run deeper. "City were all over the place 11 versus 11, and United were by far the better team," he said. "When it went to 10 vs 11, you get to sit back a little, there's not that much pressure on you. If you go two banks of four and leave Erling Haaland up there, that's hard to break down."

Merson suggested Maresca, whose Chelsea side he noted was built on control, would have hated the chaos. "He doesn't like chaos. He's not a chaos manager."

Arteta's Brighton call questioned

Merson also took aim at Mikel Arteta's team selection in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat at Brighton, questioning why Bruno Guimaraes started ahead of Myles Lewis-Skelly.

"I'd like to ask Mikel Arteta what his thinking was behind playing Bruno Guimaraes over Myles Lewis-Skelly at Brighton," Merson said. "I don't know if he thought it would be a nice football match, that Brighton would be tired after coming from 2-0 down against Manchester United on Wednesday? It just didn't work. Arsenal got outrun, they got overpowered in midfield, they got ripped to shreds."

While insisting he was not blaming Guimaraes for the loss, Merson argued the youngster's energy would have been better suited to a bruising away fixture. "When Bruno came on as a sub against Aston Villa a few weeks ago, he was outstanding," he noted. "He could just keep the ball, pop it around, play one-twos and play the game at his tempo. That would have been a better idea."

Merson credited Brighton for a brilliant performance but maintained that against intense pressure, even the finest footballers struggle. "When you get all the time in the world, I could still play. But when you do what Brighton have done, they were absolutely brilliant," he concluded.