Former Celtic star Chris Sutton has backed Arsenal to claim a slender win and knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup in their Third Round meeting this weekend.
Premier League aspirants Arsenal will welcome Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium for their FA Cup Third Round clash with Manchester United on Sunday, 12th January. The Gunners have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately, with them struggling to create goalscoring opportunities without poster boy Bukayo Saka.
Since the beginning of 2025, Arsenal have played three games, claiming one victory, suffering one defeat, and playing out a draw. In their last outing, they fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup semi-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester United have been enduring one of their worst campaigns in history. They have only picked up 23 points from 20 Premier League games so far and find themselves in 13th place in the rankings. In their last five Premier League outings, they have won once, lost thrice, and drawn once. The Red Devils, however, are coming into Sunday’s fixture in a better mood than Arsenal, having held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw in their previous outing.
Chris Sutton Does Not Think Manchester United Can Beat Arsenal at Emirates Stadium
Previewing the FA Cup clash between Arsenal and Manchester United, Sutton praised the Red Devils for the shift they put in against Liverpool. He, however, did not back them to upend the Gunners in London this Sunday.
In his BBC column, Sutton wrote:
“Well, Manchester United have cracked it now haven’t they, after that draw at Anfield? Some of the flak I have had on social media for predicting that Liverpool would win 5-0 was extraordinary.
“It seems like the bunting was out because I got a score prediction wrong, although oddly I did not hear from anyone predicting a 2-2 draw before the game. I suppose it shows how far Manchester United have fallen that they are celebrating draws. I remember a time when any dropped points by them was treated as a disaster.”
He added:
“They did play well, and there was a lot of excitement about their performance, but quite rightly a lot of people pointed out that now they need to back it up.
“This is a very difficult tie for them to do that. Arsenal have had a bad week and are massively missing Bukayo Saka in the final third, but I don’t trust United to get a result at Emirates Stadium yet.”
Sutton’s prediction: Arsenal 1-0 Manchester United
