Paul Merson warns Arsenal man could have a 'field day' against 'struggling' Newcastle United

Paul Merson has warned that Bukayo Saka could have a 'field day' against Newcastle United on Saturday with the Arsenal man set to shape up against Dan Burn.

Saka has been in scintillating form of late, scoring six goals in his last four Premier League appearances as part of a Gunners outfit firing on all cylinders. Five straight league wins has seen Mikel Arteta's side bag an impressive 21 goals and concede only twice.

Newcastle have been scoring plenty themselves in recent weeks but have enjoyed no such strength at the back, having drawn 2-2 at home to Bournemouth last weekend and conceded six combined against Nottingham Forest and Luton Town. Eddie Howe's side have been particularly vulnerable down their left with Burn unable to cope with the pace of his opponents.

The Magpies do have the slight advantage of no midweek football, with Arsenal suffering a disappointing 1-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg defeat at FC Porto. But their former midfielder Merson does not think it will affect domestic form and is hopeful Saka can exploit Burn's lack of pace.

“Arsenal suffered a big blow last night [Wednesday’s 1-0 Champions League defeat at FC Porto],” Merson told Sportskeeda. “They last won a European trophy 30 years ago. It just shows you how hard European competitions really are - you need the experience. They had a lot of the ball away from home, but they didn't really know what to do with it. I'm not sure why they changed the away-goals rule - you're now going to get games like this because teams will go into a shell in their away matches.

“I don't think their European setback will affect Arsenal this weekend. Newcastle have been inconsistent recently but have managed to remain unbeaten in their last five matches. They're scoring goals, but they're conceding far too many goals as well. They cannot go to Arsenal this weekend and defend like that - they'll get destroyed.

“Newcastle's defence is struggling at the moment, but they don't have much to play for. I like watching them play because they open games up, but they don't want to do that against Arsenal - it could get messy. Bukayo Saka could have a field day in this fixture, and I expect Arsenal to win this game comfortably.”