Chris Sutton has predicted on BBC Sport that Arsenal will win against Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium in North London in the Premier League this weekend.
The former Chelsea striker believes that Arsenal will pick up all three points from the encounter against Palace courtesy of a 2-0 win.
The BBC Sport pundit, though, has warned Arsenal that they cannot get complacent against the Eagles.
CHRIS SUTTON PREDICTS ARSENAL VS CRYSTAL PALACE
Sutton wrote: “On paper you might look at this and think a straightforward home win but it rarely works out that way when Arsenal play Palace.
“The Eagles have not been beaten at the Emirates on any of their past four visits, drawing three and winning one.
“Palace are on a long winless run and have not even managed a shot on target for a while but I am not so worried about them going down.
“They still have to play all eight of the teams below them in the table, and they picked up 16 points out of a possible 24 against them earlier in the season.
“The question here is whether Palace can hold out and they showed against Manchester City last weekend that they are not easy to break down – it took until the 78th minute for City to score with a penalty.
“So, it is not going to be easy for the Gunners – they will have to watch out for counter-attacks too – but I am still expecting them to win.
“Their focus has to be on this game, rather than the Europa League. Usually I’d advocate going for every competition but not now, with the finish line of the title race in sight.
“Win this, and Arsenal go into April eight points clear with 10 games to go. That would be enormous for them as they go into the home straight, and I think at least one of their players will step up again to make sure it happens.
OUR VERDICT: ARSENAL WILL WIN THE LONDON DERBY
In our view, Arsenal will win the London derby against Crystal Palace this weekend.
Yes, the Gunners suffered UEFA Europa League disappointment on Thursday evening, but the North London club are flying in the Premier League.
Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table at the moment and could win the title.
Palace are fighting for survival in the Premier League and have just sacked Patrick Vieira as their manager.
The Eagles have been dire in 2023, and we do not think that they will suddenly be able to step up their game and win against Arsenal.
Now, of course, we do not expect Arsenal to simply roll over the Eagles, but the Gunners should get the job done in the end.
