Football

‘Only Way They Are Going to Make This Close’ – Chris Sutton Discusses How Manchester United Could Trouble Arsenal in Premier League Meeting

Author photo
By
Sushan Chakraborty
Author photo
Sushan Chakraborty Sports Editor

Sushan Chakraborty has been writing professionally since debuting with 90min in 2017. He has since typed out thousands of articles, learning the trade from some of the smartest minds in the business. Now at Sportscasting, he is striving to whip up his best articles yet.

Get to know Sushan Chakraborty better
Sports Editor

Published07 Mar 2025

Disclosure
We publish independently audited content meeting strict editorial standards. Ads on our site are served by Google AdSense and are not controlled or influenced by our editorial team.

Former Celtic star Chris Sutton has said Manchester United must raise their level to make things difficult for Arsenal in their Premier League meeting. 

Manchester United have struggled for form in the Premier League this season. Amassing a mere 33 points from 27 Premier League games (9 W, 6 D, 12 L), Ruben Amorim’s side find themselves in 14th place in the Premier League rankings.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are in second place, trailing runaway leaders Liverpool by 13 points. With only 10 games left in the season, the North Londoners need a miracle to close the gap.

Chris Sutton Expects a Close Contest Between Manchester United and Arsenal

Arsenal must win all their remaining matches to have an outside chance of beating Liverpool to the title, meaning there is no room for error. Under insurmountable pressure, Mikel Arteta’s side will travel to Old Trafford for their Matchday 28 clash with Man Utd on Sunday, 9 March.

In his BBC Column, Sutton predicted the outcome of the tussle between two legendary Premier League rivals.

“Arsenal have struggled to score in the Premier League but the goals were flowing freely for them against PSV and this feels like it is going to be another rearguard action for Manchester United, similar to the way they got past the Gunners in the FA Cup,” wrote Sutton. 

“United do seem to, somehow, raise their game against the better teams and that is the only way they are going to make this close.”

Sutton continued:

“I still think Arsenal will win it, though. Tuesday was the first time I have seen Ethan Nwaneri play in the flesh and I was really impressed with his performance for Mikel Arteta’s team.

“Declan Rice was immense in midfield and Martin Odegaard was excellent too. There has been some criticism of his form recently but he really delivered in that game.”

He concluded by adding:

“So, although United might try to make things hard for them, I definitely think Arsenal will find a way through.

“They won’t score seven again [like they did against PSV]. But this game has got all the hallmarks of ending up 1-0 to the Arsenal.”

Suttons prediction: Man Utd 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal overcame United in their previous league meeting, claiming a 2-0 win. The Red Devils, however, knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup, beating them on penalties in the Third Round.