Arsenal are firing on all cylinders once again and are firmly in Premier League title contention after wobbling earlier this season.
Prior to the winter break, the Gunners looked in pretty dire straits with regards to their hopes of claiming a first English top-flight title since 2004.
Arsenal lost to West Ham and Fulham in consecutive league games to leave them five points adrift of top spot following Liverpool’s win on New Year’s day.
The Gunners were also knocked out of the FA Cup at the hands of Liverpool, denting their confidence further.
However, since returning from their warm-weather training camp in Dubai, Arsenal have been dominant and now sit two points off the top.
It’s not as though Arsenal have been scraping by either. They beat Liverpool 3-1 and hammered the likes of West Ham, Burnley and Newcastle in the process.
Paul Merson, writing on Sportskeeda, admits he thought the Gunners’ title tilt would fizzle out, but he says they’ve been absolutely magnificent instead.
The Highbury icon also reckons Arsenal will serve up more of the same against a Sheffield United outfit struggling at the foot of the table.
“I can’t see anything but an Arsenal win here,” wrote Merson, who backed the Gunners to run out 3-0 winners in South Yorkshire.
“After successive defeats to Fulham and West Ham United in late 2023, I thought the Gunners’ title challenge would fizzle out.
“But they’ve been absolutely magnificent since the turn of the year and are scoring goals for fun!
“Again, I’ll stop at three, but I think it could be any scoreline here.
“Arsenal have a good balance to their team and will look to score early as they have in most of their games in recent weeks.”
Arsenal heavy favourites to blunt Blades
Considering how rampant Arsenal are at present and how poor Sheffield United have been, it’s hard to look past a Gunners win.
The Blades aren’t just bottom of the table; they’re 11 points from safety, with just three wins to their name all season, and they’ve conceded 66 goals in 26 top-flight games.
Obviously Arsenal still have a job to do and can’t get complacent against a team that will likely treat this game as a cup final.
However, if the Gunners stick to the job at hand and perform at their best, it’s hard not to see another one-sided high-scoring encounter here.
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