Chris Sutton believes that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made a mistake that Sir Alex Ferguson never did at Manchester United as the Gunners chase a long-awaited Premier League title. Arsenal have enjoyed their best league campaign for several years, winning 23 of their 31 league games and losing just three, leaving them four points above Manchester City with seven matches remaining. However, their advantage would have been even greater had it not been for successive 2-2 away draws at Liverpool and West Ham. Arteta said his players ‘got too comfortable’ in their draw with West Ham last weekend but Sutton believes this was an error that Ferguson never committed during his incredible 27-year spell at Manchester United and says the Spaniard should have shifted the blame elsewhere.
Sutton believes doubts may be ‘creeping in’ at Arsenal after they blew two successive 2-0 leads to drop vital points in the title race, but he expects the Gunners to prove too strong for bottom-placed Southampton on Friday night ahead of next week’s mouth-watering clash with defending champions Man City. He added that it would be unthinkable for Arsenal to drop points against the bottom side, as if they do, he thinks the title has definitely gone. While Arsenal host Southampton tomorrow night, Manchester City are in FA Cup semi-final action against Championship side Sheffield United.