Won't lose too many more games this season" - Chris Sutton makes prediction for crucial PL fixture between Arsenal and Manchester City
Football pundit and former Blackburn Rovers forward Chris Sutton believes Manchester City will edge out Arsenal this weekend. The two teams will clash horns in a Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, October 8.
Last season's top two have started the ongoing league campaign in good knick. Reigning champions City have won six of their seven matches and sit atop the standings. Meanwhile, runners-up Arsenal are third with 17 points, just one behind the leaders.
Both teams enter this contest with key absences. While Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are out injured for the Gunners, Pep Guardiola's side will be without Kevin De Bruyne through injury and Rodri due to a suspension.
Manchester City have not been at their fluent best this term despite scoring 23 goals across eight matches in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. However, Sutton believes the visitors will have just about enough to win on Sunday and predicted a 2-1 victory for them.
He wrote in his column for the BBC:
"Arsenal will still be dangerous without Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, but you'd give them far more of a chance if they were coming into this game at full tilt.
"City's squad is stretched too and their striker Erling Haaland is having something of a quiet spell with only one goal in his past four games, but I certainly wouldn't write him off."
The 1994-95 Premier League winner concluded:
"Even if City don't play that well, they are resilient and I can see them hitting Arsenal with a sucker-punch - yes they lost twice last week, but they won't lose too many more games this season."
City will enter this match on the back of a 3-1 win over Leipzig in the Champions League in midweek. However, they lost their last Premier League match 2-1 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Arsenal, meanwhile, suffered a 2-1 defeat to Lens in the Champions League but thrashed Bournemouth 4-0 in the league last weekend.
Manchester City trounced Arsenal twice in the league last season
The two teams have already clashed once this season in the Community Shield. An entertaining game ended 1-1, with both sides scoring after the 80th minute before Arsenal won the penalty shootout 4-1.
However, Manchester City were comfortably the better side when they clashed in the Premier League last season.
Their first meeting at the Emirates in February this year ended 3-1 to Pep Guardiola's side, with Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland netting the goals. Bukayo Saka scored a first-half penalty for the Gunners.
They locked horns once again in April at the Etihad Stadium, and this time, Manchester City went one step further to win 4-1. De Bruyne scored a brace, while John Stones and Haaland also netted for the Citizens. Rob Holding netted a late consolation for the visitors.
City also edged Mikel Arteta's side 1-0 in the fourth round of last season's FA Cup courtesy of Nathan Ake's 64th-minute winner.