Arsenal hero Paul Merson

Paul Merson’s north London derby prediction has emerged and the Sky Sports pundit was absolutely spot on when it comes to how the game would pan out. The former Gunners midfielder knew it would not be easy for his old side at Tottenham Hotspur as Arsenal succumbed to a 2-0 defeat by Jose Mourinho’s side.

Son Heung-min struck a sensational opener from 25-yards before he teed up fellow attacker Harry Kane for a second goal.

Arsenal enjoyed large spells of possession but were unable to break Tottenham down before being punished on the counter-attack.

It was an unsurprising outcome for pundit Merson, who called it a day before the game on Gillette Soccer Saturday.

“It’s an easy touch at the moment, I worry for them [Arsenal] tomorrow,” Merson told Sky Sports’ Jeff Stelling.

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The Portuguese later claimed he does not care about his detractors, all the while his team are winning: “This ball possession story is more for sports philosophers than it’s for me.

“No one has ever seen me say ‘I lost that game but I had more possession’. What matters is what you do with the ball.”

Goalscorer Kane insisted Tottenham are simply playing to their strengths: “We play well on the counter-attack, we’ve got fast players. We’ve been clinical when we’ve got our chances…. sometimes you just have to defend and sit deep.”

The result cast further doubt over the future of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, with his side now 15th in the Premier League table.

Pundit Jamie Carragher has since jumped to the defence of the Gunners boss, claiming that he can only work with what he has got.

“There might be talk about [Arteta] being under pressure now, or the situation he’s in, I wouldn’t even think about Mikel Arteta’s position. I really like Arteta,” Carragher said on Monday Night Football.