‘They will loose todays Match,They can’t be winning all the time’: Chris Sutton revealed His Newcastle v Arsenal prediction
Arsenal can take a giant step towards cementing themselves as title challengers once more if they beat Newcastle says club icon Paul Merson. The Gunners will be able to move to the top of the league for a couple of days at least if they claim victory at St James’ Park with Tottenham not playing until Monday.
Mikel Arteta’s men remain unbeaten after 10 games but are still two points behind early frontrunners Spurs, with Manchester City playing Bournemouth at 3pm on Saturday there’s a chance Arsenal are further behind by the time they kick-off but that gap can well and truly be cut.
It was this fixture last season that saw the Gunners respond well to pressure put on them at the top of the league by City after a 2-0 win and this game has brought plenty of recent success with just the one away loss to the Magpies in five trips. Now, with Arsenal crashing out of the Carabao Cup in midweek at the hands of West Ham there is even more attention being put on them here.
Despite the points return Arsenal are yet to truly hit full stride it feels, and that comes after they beat Sheffield United 5-0 and defeated Manchester City before the international break. Beating Newcastle would pose as a statement win though and Merson believes Arteta can use the cup result to his advantage.
“It could turn out to be a blessing for Arsenal that they were eliminated from the Carabao Cup as it allows them to put more focus on their Premier League title challenge,” he writes in his SportsKeeda column. “I look at this game and think if Arsenal win, the race for the league title becomes a heads or tails clash between the Gunners and Manchester City, as an away victory at St. James’ Park would be a huge statement.
“Newcastle have injuries but they are a good team at home and rarely lose games in front of their own fans. The West Ham result won’t hurt Arsenal in the long-term but could prove to be a bit of a knockout punch, so I’m going for a 1-1 draw here.
“Kai Havertz started in midfield alongside Jorginho and Fabio Vieira against West Ham and I felt a bit sorry for him, as that’s not his position and he doesn’t really have a fixed role in the team.”
Merson’s prediction: Newcastle United 1-1 Arsenal
Chris Sutton is more confident that Arsenal will be able to prove a point in the north east though, especially after a group of key players were rested for the midweek clash with the Hammers. “Newcastle’s third team beat Manchester United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, and the whole club will be buoyed by that result,” he said for BBC.
“In the same competition, I found it really odd that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta waited until his side were 3-0 down to West Ham before bringing on Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard. Was he really expecting them to turn the game around? Either play them from the start or bring them on when they are 1-0 down.”
Arsenal did manage to get a late consolation goal via their captain but it was much too little and far too late on an evening that they will be keen to forget. Newcastle also seem to have bigger priorities with injuries, another top four chase and the Champions League to contend with this season.
“Both sides will be back to full strength on Saturday and I am expecting this game to be really close,” Sutton continued. “There won’t be many goals, but I just have a sneaking feeling that Arsenal will take the points.”
Sutton prediction: 0-2
