Arsenal legend Paul Merson has said that his former club would be making a mistake to acquire the services of Jerome Boateng from Bayern Munich. The World Cup winner has been pursue a fresh challenge away from the German champions after nearly a decade of services and the Gunners have been touted as the favourites to sign him.

This has certainly not gone well with a large section of the fans, who consider the defender to be declining with his performances and the same opinion has been shared by Merson. Speaking on Sky Sports, the former Gunners favourite stated that the north London side are getting carried away with the pursuit of Boateng, given the German has acclimatised to playing in the Bundesliga, where Bayern are completely in control of most of their matches.

He added that is certainly not the case with the Gunners in the Premier League and given the German’s age, he may struggle to adapt to the physical demands, he told: “I think Arsenal are getting a little bit carried away here. He’s playing at Bayern Munich where they’re getting 80% of the ball and they’ve probably got two [tough] games a season.

“This Arsenal team are not a 70-30% possession team anymore, it’s not a team that are dictating games. They need defenders now, people who can defend. When you’re 31, 32, 33, I give you one assurance – you ain’t getting quicker and this league is relentless, it’s ruthless, and it’s not the Bundesliga. It’s not playing for Bayern Munich, it’s playing for Arsenal and you’ll be playing a lot more.”

Boateng is reportedly valued at around £12.8m and Bayern are presumably open to the centre-back’s departure with his contract due to expire at the end of the season. The price certainly seems steep for a defender, who is already 31 and alternate reports have claimed that the Gunners could propose a short-term loan for the campaign instead.