Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton tip Arsenal to beat Sunderland | OneFootball

Ally McCoist and Chris Sutton both expect Sunderland to be beaten by Arsenal on Saturday evening, with McCoist predicting 2-0 and Sutton going 1-0.

The clubs drew 2-2 at the Stadium of Light last season, Brian Brobbey striking late to earn a point. Arsenal head north this term having won all five of their matches in all competitions.

"What a game. For many teams, this will be their hardest away game. I don't see Sunderland scoring a lot of goals this season, while Arsenal come into this after a difficult away European tie against Napoli which they handled superbly well. [Martin] Odegaard has started incredibly well, and as we saw at [Aston] Villa, Arsenal can grind out results. Sadly, I don't think Sunderland will score, and I can see Arsenal nicking one and another one late on," he told TNT Sports.

"This was a cracking game last season, which finished 2-2, and is arguably Arsenal's toughest test so far in this campaign. I feel like being brave and giving them a draw because they are well capable of taking a point off Arsenal, but the Gunners just have the ability to shut up shop when they need to. Thinking about it, I can't really go against an Arsenal victory, because of the players they were able to bring on in last weekend's comeback win against Chelsea. They have got A-list replacements everywhere they look and, if they need a goal against Sunderland, I can see them bringing someone on to get them one," he told BBC Sport.

Both pundits see a tight contest, yet anticipate Arsenal having the extra edge to see it through.

Source: Sunderland Echo

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