Chelsea FC are just one point away from the relegation zone, and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson believes that their Saturday game against Norwich is a “must-win affair” for the Blues.
Jose Mourinho’s side have been catching the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, as reports of a player mutiny swarm the media. Surprisingly however, the Chelsea FC board have shown their suppor for the Portuguese manager (something that they have not done with previous coaches).
Losing seven of their opening 12 matches, Chelsea FC have now made the record for the worst ever start to a season, by a defending champion.
Former Arsenal player Merson believes that Chelsea FC need to win this match if they are harbouring any hopes of getting a Champions League berth this season.
a We keep saying this is the time for Chelsea, this is the game to kick-start their campaign, but they’ve lost seven league games this season,a wrote Merson in his column on Sky Sports.
“It is a must-win game for them. I know it is only November but if Man Utd did beat Watford and Chelsea lost this game, it’s a stupid amount of points to catch them up and get in the top four,” he further continued.
.
Wenger would not have survived this slump, says Merson
Merson had played under current Arsenal FC coach Arsene Wenger, and believes that the Frenchman would have been unable to save his job had his side preformed this miserably.
“If they don’t win, I think top four is out of the question and Jose Mourinho will be under so much more pressure,” continued Merson. “I don’t even think Arsene Wenger could go on a run like this and survive.a
Wenger’s team however, are on the opposite end of the spectrum, and are fighting for the Premier League title against Manchester City. It would be interesting to see whether Mourinho manages to turn around his team’s miserable fortunes this season.