Paul Merson predicts Champions League failure for Arsenal after Mikel Arteta missed out on 'X factor' transfer

Merson has warned that Arsenal will fail to win the Champions League this season. The former Gunners midfielder believes the club missed a crucial opportunity to sign an 'X factor' attacker during the summer transfer window. Arteta’s side reached the final of Europe's premier competition last term. However, they suffered a heart-breaking penalty shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain following a tense 1-1 draw in normal time in Budapest.

Despite spending heavily during the summer, Merson remains unconvinced by Arsenal's frontline. He feels their current attacking options will struggle to deliver consistently against the continent's heavyweight clubs.

Arsenal invested around £160 million to bring Bruno Guimaraes, Ezri Konsa, and Christos Tzolis to north London. However, Merson insists this massive outlay failed to address a glaring issue in the final third. Speaking to Sky Sports, he explained that Arsenal need a transformative forward to conquer Europe.

"Arsenal’s record last year was amazing in the Champions League up to the final, Merson stated. "They’re going to be there or thereabouts, I just don’t think they bought that X factor to take them to that level. I think they’ve got enough to win them the Premier League with their squad, I just think their forward line against the big boys.

"I just think they’re missing that little ingredient. If they’d got a Vinicius Junior or a Julian Alvarez then I think that would have given them the edge to go on and win the Champions League, and I think they might just fall short. But they will be there or thereabouts, there’s no doubt about that."

The disappointment of last season's final still lingers in north London. Kai Havertz opened the scoring early against PSG, but Ousmane Dembele equalised before Gabriel Magalhaes missed the decisive spot-kick.

Having recently ended their lengthy wait for a Premier League title, the fanbase is desperate for continental success. Merson believes the supporters are completely focused on lifting the Champions League trophy this year to complete their collection.

"Now they’ve won the Premier League after a long, long time, I think it would probably be the Champions League," Merson added. "I don’t want to talk on behalf of everybody else but there’s a song that goes around that says, 'We’ve won it all, we’ve won it all', and Arsenal haven’t been able to sing that. I would imagine Arsenal fans would like to win that to be able to sing that song at away grounds."

Arsenal will begin their latest Champions League campaign away to Napoli this evening. The squad travels to Italy full of confidence following a perfect start to their domestic season.

Arteta's men have secured three consecutive Premier League victories against Coventry, Aston Villa, and Chelsea. Securing a positive result in Naples will be essential for building early momentum.