“Arteta would be delighted with that” - Harry Redknapp predicts result as Manchester City prepare to face Arsenal

Football pundit Harry Redknapp has predicted a draw in the upcoming Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City on Sunday, September 22. He believes the two sides will settle for a 1-1 draw.

Redknapp, understandably, claimed that Erlingh Haaland would play a key role in the game. But he backed the two Arsenal centre-backs, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, to give the Manchester City star a tough challenge and told The Sun:

“The question today is, can the two Arsenal centre-backs cope with Erling Haaland, like they did last season? Haaland is a machine and scoring goals for fun again, but there was a bit of edge between him and Gabriel last time. That could kick off again. Regardless, it would be good to see a better game than last time, which was a bit of a bore, ending 0-0. Let’s hope it lives up to its star billing, even though I’m predicting a 1-1 draw. But Arteta would be delighted with that.”

Manchester City are yet to drop a point this season, while Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton & Hove Albion. The Cityzens are second in the table, only behind Liverpool on goal difference, while the Gunners are fifth ahead of kickoff.

Manchester City backed to beat Arsenal by pundit

While Harry Redknapp has predicted a draw, Chris Sutton has backed Pep Guardiola's side to beat the Gunners. He believes Mikel Arteta's side might still be thinking the draw last season against City that eventually cost them the league title.

He wrote for the BBC:

"Arsenal got a lot of praise for the way they shut out City here for a draw last season, but they then lost the title race by two points. Of course that left them open to anyone who wanted to be 'Captain Hindsight' - like I did when I turned the result around and used it to question the Gunners. Yes, that criticism was harsh but we are talking about the fine margins between finishing first and second."

He added:

"It is almost two years since City failed to score in two successive games - October 2022, when they drew 0-0 in Copenhagen in the Champions League and then lost at Anfield in the Premier League. I am expecting a reaction, and I don't think they will be as flat as they were on Wednesday."

Sutton further predicted a 2-1 win for the Cityzens, while singer James Smith, who joined the Pundit in his BBC predictions, predicted a 3-1 win for the home side at the Etihad.