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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lewis Pangratiou

Paul Merson and Chris Sutton agree on Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest prediction

Arsenal will be looking to return to winning ways following their most difficult week of the season so far. After dropping two points on their travels to Southampton last Sunday, the Gunners were beaten 2-0 in the Europa League by a determined PSV Eindhoven side.

The defeat means that the job still isn't done in Europe. Although Arsenal have indeed qualified, they will need to beat FC Zurich at the Emirates on Thursday in order to guarantee top spot in Group A.

Before then, though, they will be looking forward to what is a well-needed home fixture with bottom-placed Nottingham Forest. It's a routine victory on paper but Arsenal will still have to be at their best to get the job done.

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As always, many pundits, including Paul Merson and Chris Sutton, have had their say on who might come away with a win. Gunners legend Merson thinks that his old side

"Mikel Arteta has been quite clever with Arsenal," he wrote in his Sportskeeda column. "He has played four solid defenders at the back - Ben White, Tomiyasu, and the two centre-backs. Thomas Partey plays in front of them - he's played for one of the most disciplined teams in world football in Atletico Madrid. Arteta's told the rest of the team to go out there and express themselves, and it's worked wonders for his side.

"Granit Xhaka is playing for Arsenal now like he does for Switzerland. I used to watch him play for his national team and wonder why he couldn't play like that for Arsenal. He has turned up now, and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. He plays for his manager, and he's always been one of the first names on the teamsheet.

"I know they suffered a bad result the other day against Southampton, but they didn't lose - that's a big compliment. Last season, they would've lost that game. If Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table come the World Cup break, it'll be a massive feat.

"Nottingham Forest will sit back and play ten men behind the ball, but I think Arsenal will have too much for them. The earlier they find the back of the net, the bigger the final score will be. Forest are going to play one way and one way only, but I think Arsenal should be able to win this match."

Merson's prediction: 3-0

Sutton also thinks that the Gunners will find a way to win, though he's admitted that Forest have added stubbornness to their game.

"Forest have been a bit more stubborn in their past couple of games and have kept two clean sheets," he told BBC Sport. "They seem to have found a bit of defensive stability and it is down to Arsenal to find a way through. Because they are at home, I have to back the Gunners, but these next few weeks before the season stops for the World Cup will tell us a lot about their squad, and whether it is strong enough."

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

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