'There is an edge': Chris Sutton invokes November's controversy in his NUFC v AFC prediction

Arsenal will be out for revenge after Newcastle United's controversial goal that saw the Magpies emerge victorious the last time these sides met.

Mikel Arteta and pretty much every fan and pundit connected to Arsenal went into a deep meltdown after Anthony Gordon's goal was allowed to stand in the game at St James' Park in November, despite extensive VAR reviews, the audio from the referee and VAR being released and pretty much every former official confirmed it was the right decision.

It will no doubt be mentioned in Arteta's bizarre team talks on the day (if you've seen the Arsenal All Or Nothing documentary on Amazon Prime you'll know what we mean).

Newcastle have been living rent-free in Arteta's head since November

The positive way of looking at this from a Newcastle point of view is that we're already living rent-free in their heads before the game even kicks off.

Chris Sutton believes the controversy will factor into Arsenal's mindset going into the fixture, but doesn't believe it will be too much for them to overcome with the former Aston Villa striker backing the Gunners for a win in his score prediction for the BBC.

"There was plenty of controversy when these two sides met at St James' Park in November, including fury towards the VAR from Arsenal over Newcastle's winner. That might mean there is an edge to this game, from the start.

"Arsenal were disappointing in their defeat by Porto on Wednesday, which surprised me a little, but Porto really disrupted them.

"Newcastle may well try to do the same thing but I am expecting the Gunners to bounce back. They were excellent when I watched them beat Burnley last week and the Magpies concede too many goals. including eight in their past three games, so I think Arsenal will find a way through.

"Sutton's prediction: 2-1"

Can we have another VAR controversy in our favour please?

It's not as devastating a score prediction as Paul Merson's, but still, it's not looking good for the Magpies, is it?

As we said in the Merson piece, though, we had the same level of confidence going into the Aston Villa game and look how that turned out.

Wouldn't it be nice if we managed another goal that had to be checked extensively by VAR before being given? Imagine the fume!