"I would not be surprised if they came unstuck" - Chris Sutton makes surprise prediction for Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Chris Sutton has predicted a draw between Arsenal and Bournemouth, scheduled to be played on Saturday, October 19. The BBC pundit believes that the Cherries will make the most of the Gunners' injury issues and walk away with a point.
In his BBC column, Sutton stated that Arsenal could be without their best attackers and that could hurt them. He added that the Bournemouth side always create chances and could sneak a surprise result this weekend.
He said:
"Arsenal have got a few injury issues to deal with, including Bukayo Saka, who limped off with a hamstring injury during England's defeat by Greece. He is in my Fantasy team so I am hoping he will be fit, and so will all Gunners fans. Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli are also injury doubts, while Martin Odegaard is still sidelined, but we know that the Gunners can still grind out results even if they are missing some of their best attacking players."
"They have an excellent defence, which is behind this habit they have of always finding a way to get a result, but this time I would not be surprised if they came unstuck. Bournemouth always create chances, whoever they play against. The Cherries' issue has been that they have not always taken those opportunities... but Saturday could be a different story," he added.
Notably, Bukayo Saka limped off in England's loss to Greece last week, while Kai Havertz sat out of the international break because of a knee issue. Martin Odegaard has been out injured since September and is yet to recover from his ankle injury.
Chris Sutton was joined by legendary boxing manager Kellie Maloney and she has backed Arsenal to collect all three points. She has gone with a 2-0 scoreline for the Gunners, which would take them to the top of the table.
Harry Redknapp makes prediction for Bournemouth vs Arsenal
Harry Redknapp has backed Arsenal to beat Bournemouth on Saturday. The former Tottenham manager admitted that the Gunners are not cruising to wins this season but believes they can get all three points this weekend.
He told BetVictor:
"I'm looking forward to this one, Bournemouth always give the top sides a good game at home. That was a disappointing loss away to Leicester and they've got some really tough fixtures on the way. A positive result here would be a real bonus. Arsenal might not be cruising to wins at the minute but they're so hard to beat, particularly with that formidable defence. They have some huge games coming up too, they can't afford to slip up here. I'd love to see Bournemouth get something from this, but I just don't see them hurting Arsenal. 2-0."
Arsenal are third in the Premier League table - level on points with second-placed Manchester City. They are just a point behind leaders Liverpool and will be aiming to get to the top of the table this weekend.