Merson checks in to share addiction horrors

Merson had his first bet at 16, as a youth player at Arsenal, starting a long-standing disorder with gambling, alcohol and drugs which has scarred his life. The 53-year-old won two league titles and three cups with the Gunners, as well as earning 21 caps for England.

Having hit great heights on the pitch, Merson explains how he tried to replicate it off it, when the full-time whistle had been blown.

He said: “With football, it’s such a buzz. You’re playing the best sport in the world in front of 30-40,000 people week in, week out. That adrenaline, the high, you come off the pitch, and for some people, they want to keep that high and the only way is to have a bet.

“That’s the thing with football. There’s a lot of time on your hands, the lads can’t go out and drink socially because there’s people filming them, so they stay indoors and the easiest thing to do is gamble. It’s hidden, you don’t know if someone’s just dropped £100,000 or just lost their house. You only find out when it’s out of control and they’ve come to the end, and the end might to be too late.”

Now, he’s raising the topic with today’s Premier League players and O’Neil’s squad at Compton Park, where he hopes he had an impact, whether it was helping individuals, their family or friends.

“All you ask is that people sit and listen. I thought I got their attention and they listened. They seem good lads and they gave me their time. The seed will be planted, hopefully it’s none of the players, it might be their family, but hopefully they’ll understand the addiction a lot more now than what they did.”