Why Sky Sports have questions to answer over ill-informed Leeds comments from Paul Merson
Paul Merson and Sky Sports have gotten it all wrong before Leeds United travel to face Arsenal.
The Whites are looking ahead to a trip to the Emirates as the extended international break finally comes to an end.
It will have been almost three weeks to the day since the Crystal Palace draw when the LS11 outfit line up in North London.
Fans are excited to see how Daniel Farke's side will fare after so long away from Premier League action.
That has sparked plenty of conversation, especially given that it is a clash with the league champions.
It doesn't appear that Sky Sports got the memo as everything has gone wrong with their pre-match chatter.
What has Paul Merson said about Arsenal vs Leeds United?
There is always a step up in coverage when the Yorkshire outfit face one of the so-called big six.
That has happened ahead of this trip to the capital, but hasn't actually benefited anyone.
Sky Sports News called on Arsenal legend Merson and former Chelsea keeper Asmir Begovic on Thursday to discuss upcoming fixtures.
When asked about Arsenal's clash with Leeds, he got plenty of details incorrect.
He said: "A lot of players go away on international at Arsenal. They probably came back yesterday to do a little warm up.
"They literally get today and a little bit tomorrow running through set-plays and patterns, then their kicking off at 12:30 on Saturday morning. It's a bit of a leveler, a bit of an advantage for Leeds."
The idea that the Gunners will struggle more is false as the Farke lost 13 players of his own.
That doesn't fit the narrative that is being put out, while the game will also not kick-off at 12:45.
Merson needed help to correct these details, but the whole situation was actually made worse by Begovic.
Asmir Begovic rubs salt in Arsenal vs Leeds wounds
If the ex-midfielder's comments were bad, he was actually made to look better by his co-host.
Begovic was asked if he agreed with Merson and actually went on to get further details wrong.
He added, "I think anytime you want to play one of the big teams is right after the international break, when they've been so disjointed, so many players off and not getting time to work together.
"Especially a lunchtime kick-off at Elland Road, they'll be absolutely buzzing for this game. It's going to be a difficult test for Arsenal."
Let's start with the elephant in the room...
The game is on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium, not Elland Road.
Secondly, Begovic has carried the opinion of Merson that Arsenal will be so much more "disjointed" than Leeds, even though they've had a similar number of players away on international duty.
To make it all worse, Sky Sports tweeted a clip of all this with the caption, "With little time for Arsenal to regroup following the international break, Paul Merson believes Leeds United could hold the advantage when the two sides meet next at Elland Road."
It's just not a good look and has certainly rubbed a lot of Leeds fans up the wrong way. And for good reason.