"That's worrying" - Paul Merson points out the major issue in Arsenal's recent losses

Two-time English top-flight winner and Arsenal legend Paul Merson believes his former club's recent losses against teams they should be beating is a "worrying" sign.

The Gunners have lost each of their last three Premier League matches to fall behind Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a top-four finish. They are now fifth in the league with 54 points from 31 matches, three behind fourth-placed Spurs who have played a match more.

Mikel Arteta's side were thoroughly outplayed in a 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on 4 April, which set off a run of poor results. They have since gone on to lose 2-1 to Brighton and Hove Albion and 1-0 to Southampton.

Merson argued that while the latter two teams deserve respect, his former side played them at the best possible time. Prior to their match against the Gunners, Brighton were winless in 11 league matches. Southampton, meanwhile, came into their game against Arteta's side on the back of a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea.

In his column for Sky Sports, Merson wrote:

"The problem with Arsenal's recent losing run is not the defeats. It's the teams they've been beaten by that's the issue. Crystal Palace, Brighton and Southampton - no disrespect to those three teams - but Arsenal should be beating them if they want that top-four finish."

The 54-year-old added:

"Palace was a hard game, the way it fell, and Brighton have had two great results, but they have played these teams at the right time. They played Brighton when they couldn't win a game and also Southampton after a 6-0 thrashing. That's worrying for Arsenal."

He did, however, opine that the Gunners played "alright" against Southampton while praising Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster:

"One positive is the way they played against Southampton. They did alright. Fraser Forster just had one of those games for Southampton and for Arsenal, that wasn't the case against Palace and Brighton. It wasn't good enough from Arsenal. But against Southampton, they should have got something from the game."

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Arsenal face key week ahead with fixtures against Chelsea and Manchester United

The Gunners will have a massive chance to bounce back from their successive reverses this week.

They take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight (20 April) in a crucial Premier League clash. The Blues have scored 11 times in their last three matches across all competitions and are starting to rediscover their best form after a few poor displays.

Arteta's side will follow that up with another tricky fixture against Manchester United at the Emirates on Saturday, 23 April. They will fancy their chances against a struggling Red Devils side who were humiliated 4-0 by Liverpool at Anfield last night (19 April).