Paul Merson and Chris Sutton agree on Crystal Palace vs Arsenal score prediction

Arsenal hero Paul Merson has backed his former side to secure all three points in tonight's Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.

The Gunners defeated Nottingham Forest 2-1 last week thanks to goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka. Mikel Arteta and Co will be hoping to continue their perfect start this evening when they travel to Selhurst Park to take on Palace.

Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City are the only teams to win both of their league matches so far this term and Arteta will be keen to keep up the pace, with Merson confident in the Spaniard's side going into tonight's fixture. Speaking to Sportskeeda, he said: «Arsenal started the game against Nottingham Forest looking nervy.

»That's the problem that the Gunners are going to encounter this season. They have to play with the weight of expectations this term.

«The Gunners have earned the respect of teams thanks to their performances last season. So they're going to come up against teams that sit back and defend deep against them.

»I didn't like the fact that Thomas Partey started at right-back ahead of Takehiro Tomiyasu. I also don't see Kai Havertz as a midfielder, however, I have faith in him and he is the kind of player you want when games open up. It will be interesting to see how Mikel Arteta goes about using these players over the course of the new campaign.

«Meanwhile, Crystal Palace had a great result last week and they will cause Arsenal problems. But they are unlikely to cause enough problems to get a win over them.»

Merson's prediction: Crystal Palace 0-2 Arsenal

Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton also echoed a similar sentiment to Merson, also backing Arsenal to come out on top in this one. Writing in his BBC Sport column, Sutton said: