"They will take them so far" - Paul Merson names 2 Arsenal stars Mikel Arteta should upgrade on to win Premier League title 

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson reckons the Gunners cannot win the Premier League with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as their main strikers.

The north London side suffered their second domestic cup exit of the season on Sunday (January 7) in the form of the FA Cup. They lost 2-0 against Liverpool at the Emirates in the third round.

Jesus missed the game due to an injury while Nketiah only featured for nine minutes as a substitute. Kai Havertz started up front but he and Arsenal overall missed many chances to score. The Gunners haven't scored a single goal in their last 48 shots at the Emirates across two games.

Merson highlighted their goalscoring issues, saying on Sky Sports:

“I think Arsenal need a forward, if I’m going to be honest.

“I don’t think they are going to win it with Jesus and Nketiah upfront. I think they will take them so far, which they did last season. I think that would be the case.”

Jesus has scored just seven goals and provided three assists in 21 games across competitions this season for the north London side. Nketiah, meanwhile, has contributed six goals and four assists in 27 games.

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Mikel Arteta on Arsenal's inability to translate recent good performances into results

The Gunners have won just one of their last seven games across competitions, losing four. In that time, they've been eliminated from the FA Cup and dropped from the summit of the Premier League standings to fourth place.

Arsenal have dominated in recent games, creating multiple chances but have lacked the clinical edge. They've attempted 61 shots in their last three games but scored just once, leading to three straight defeats.

After the Liverpool clash, manager Mikel Arteta spoke about the frustrations of not being able to get results, telling the media (via Arsenal.com):

"It is frustrating, but what can we do? I cannot tell them to play bad, don’t shoot, Liverpool is going to score an own goal and we’re going to win the game, I don’t know how to create a gameplan like this, it’s impossible.

"Stick with them; if we have 18, next time we have 35, and continuously do that, do that, do that the ball will go into the net. We’ll generate momentum, and we will win a lot of games, that’s for sure."

The Gunners are five points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League title race. They will next host Crystal Palace on January 20.