Paul Merson Admits He Was ‘Out of Order’ Over James Maddison Criticism

Paul Merson has revealed he felt compelled to personally apologise to two England internationals after believing he crossed the line with his on-air criticism during his time as a pundit. The former Arsenal star admitted the comments left him feeling guilty, despite his reputation for being brutally honest on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.

Speaking on The Overlap, Merson reflected on moments where he felt his criticism went too far, even though he has never shied away from owning his mistakes in the past — including admitting he got Kevin De Bruyne’s move to Manchester City “horribly wrong”.

One of those moments involved Tottenham midfielder James Maddison, who has previously pushed back at pundits when he feels unfairly targeted. Merson recalled singling Maddison out after a north London derby and later regretting it, explaining:

“I did an Arsenal game against Tottenham at the new stadium. Tottenham were atrocious that day, atrocious, but I picked out Maddison. Afterwards, I thought, ‘Why am I picking him out and not everyone else?’ I just said it wasn’t good enough.

When you’re playing as a 10, you’ve got to affect a football match; it doesn’t matter how badly the rest of the team are playing. So I rang him up and he said, ‘Oh, I haven’t even seen it’.”

The second apology went to Harry Maguire, following Merson’s repeated criticism of Manchester United’s £80m signing. At the time, Merson questioned Maguire’s suitability for playing a high defensive line, despite acknowledging his England form. He said:

“Maguire for £80m is ridiculous at the highest level.
He kicks off now with Man Utd and you are on the halfway line and all of a sudden you are playing against Arsenal and you are on the halfway line and balls are going over the top for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and for Man City for Sergio Aguero and it is pace, pace, pace.”

Reflecting on that period, Merson admitted he felt he went too far with Maguire, even if he still stood by parts of his analysis:

“I’ve rung up two players since I’ve been on that show to apologise. Harry Maguire, when he signed for Man Utd. I thought it was a bad signing and I didn’t think he’d be able to play on the halfway line and I stick by that.

But I felt like I carried on and went on and on and on. I came away from the show thinking, ‘No, you’re out of order’.”

What do Spurs fans make of Merson’s Maddison comments — fair analysis, or unnecessary singling out?
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