Chris Sutton delivers Southampton vs Arsenal prediction ahead of Premier League tie
Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton believes Southampton won't get anything against Arsenal even though the "pressure is off".
Friday night's clash sees the team leading the league in the Gunners take on the side at the bottom of the table in the Saints. Both teams will be looking for three points for different reasons.
Ruben Selles' side are four points from safety with seven games remaining and head into the tie on the back of a 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Crystal Palace.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have thrown away two-goal leads in their last two league matches against Liverpool and more recently West Ham United.
But Sutton has still predicted a 2-0 win for Mikel Arteta's Reds and said that while the pressure is off Southampton due to no one giving them a chance, they won't have enough to overcome the league leaders.
"Arsenal will still be stinging after letting a two-goal lead slip in their draw with West Ham last weekend. It is that sort of result that makes the doubts creep in when you are a player," said Sutton in his BBC column.
"I remember when I won the title with Blackburn in 1995, we lost 3-2 at home to Manchester City in April, in a game where we led twice. We were a quite a young team, like Arsenal are now, and it hurt us.
"Compared to our title rivals that season, Manchester United, we were quite inexperienced in terms of dealing with the pressure of the final few weeks of the season. We got over the line in the end, but the City defeat was probably the first time we began to feel nervous.
"That's what might be happening at Arsenal now. Their players will have felt sick going into the dressing room at London Stadium at full-time last Sunday and dropping points like that is a very different feeling to when you draw after trailing 2-0.
"I don't think Gunners boss Mikel Arteta got it right when he said afterwards that his side looked "too comfortable" when they went ahead early on against the Hammers.
"He might just have been emotional at the result but he seemed to be questioning his players' mentality and I don't think we ever saw Sir Alex Ferguson doing that at United - he would have blamed the referee, or anything, instead.
"Maybe the pressure is getting to Arteta too, but his side need to start dominating games again, or at least controlling them - starting with this one.
"Arsenal go to Etihad Stadium on Wednesday so this is an absolutely must-win game for them to get back on track. It would be unthinkable for them to drop points against the bottom side - if they do, I think the title has definitely gone.
"It's must-win for Southampton, too, and their situation means they cannot be happy with a point whoever they are playing.
"It might actually help them that the pressure is off them a bit, because most people think they are down now, but I still don't see them getting anything at Emirates Stadium."
