Initially, Merson had tipped Arsenal—his former club—to end their 22-year wait for a league title. Continue Reading
However, after the opening rounds of the campaign, he now believes Liverpool are best positioned to retain their crown.
Liverpool have made a perfect start to the season, winning all three of their opening matches against AFC Bournemouth, Newcastle United, and Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Arsenal sit third in the table, having secured victories over Manchester United and Leeds United before suffering a narrow 1-0 loss to Arne Slot’s Liverpool side at Anfield.
The Gunners have finished second in the league for three consecutive seasons, and Merson now expects that streak to continue.
Despite his history with Arsenal, Merson is known to support Chelsea and has become a prominent pundit in recent years.
He credits Liverpool’s strong summer transfer activity as a key reason for their title credentials. The Merseyside club made a major move on deadline day by signing striker Alexander Isak from Newcastle.
They also added several high-profile names to their squad, including Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Florian Wirtz, and Milos Kerkez.
With these reinforcements and a strong start to the season, Merson believes Liverpool have the depth and momentum to go all the way once again.
Asked if Liverpool were now favourites to land the 2025-26 Premier League trophy, Merson told Sky Sports: ‘Yeah, I would have thought so after yesterday as well.
‘After you got [Isak]. See, I always weigh it up with the league [after some time].
‘I thought advantage Arsenal when they went and won at Man United, then all of a sudden they [Liverpool] go and beat Newcastle and they beat Arsenal.
‘For me, they haven’t even got out of second gear yet and they haven’t played particularly well yet.
‘Watching [Sunday’s] game, I watched and I’m like, I’ve never seen an Arsenal team so comfortable at Anfield – so comfortable and they still lost.
‘What they are doing as well, as Christian [Purslow] said, they’re buying players to come into the team and these are top players.’
Like Merson, Gary Neville also tipped Arsenal to win the Premier League title before a ball was kicked.
But Neville is refusing to change his stance and still believes Mikel Arteta’s side will end up coming out on top.
‘I’ve tipped them for the title and I’m not going to change that after [the defeat to Liverpool],’ Neville said on The Gary Neville Podcast. ‘I’m not!
‘There’s an element of belief I have that I think, ‘Go on Declan Rice, you can be that player that runs through’ – or ‘Martin Odegaard, you can be the player that scores in this game’.
‘Noni Madueke, I thought he had a good game [against Liverpool]. I thought Eberechi Eze looked sharp when he came on. So there is the talent there to think they can go and do it.’
