'Arsenal won't do the quadruple but watch them do the Premier League-Champions League double' Clinton Morrison makes bold Gunners prediction in Top Top Column

Clinton Morrison's Top Top Column
Clinton Morrison's Top Top Column (Image credit: Future)

I’ll start with all the pre-match huddle talk at Chelsea and the bizarre incident at Stamford Bridge last weekend.

Everyone does huddles, but you don't need to do it on the centre circle. It was quite funny seeing Paul Tierney caught up in the middle, but he certainly could’ve have handled it better. All this talk about respecting the ball doesn’t seem to be doing them too many favours, and it’s becoming an unnecessary distraction.

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If you’re winning games, then who cares? But they’re not at the moment, and their midweek performance against Paris Saint-Germain was really disappointing.

They were missing key players — particularly Reece James, the captain; I think he makes the team tick. Malo Gusto at right-back was missing too, but they were nowhere near good enough. This team was making basic mistakes, and you cannot afford to do that against a team with PSG’s quality.

Things are certainly looking much better in north London for Arsenal, and there is increasing talk of a quadruple. Do I think it will happen? No, I don't think it will happen. But I think they've got a great chance in the Premier League and the Champions League. Obviously they’ve got a chance to win the Carabao Cup on Sunday, but I think it’s a more important trophy for Manchester City.

As I said about a month ago, the title's already as good as done - I think Arsenal will win the title now. I just can't see City doing it.

People are saying that because Man City are out of the Champions League, they can concentrate on the league. But Arsenal are doing everything right, and City need snookers at this point. I can't see Arsenal dropping that many points. So, I think Sunday is a big game for Manchester City, and they might just shade it at the weekend.

That's why Arsenal won't do the quadruple. But I do think they will win two trophies this year. That’ll be the Premier League and either the Champions League or FA Cup, but I could be wrong of course!

I think City will come out all guns blazing. When you saw Pep Guardiola make all those changes in the final half hour against Real Madrid, you knew that they had an eye on Sunday.

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There’s a lot of talk about City not having the best of seasons, but who are we to question Pep Guardiola? City could still end the season with two trophies - the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. It's not the two they would’ve wanted, probably, but they're still trophies.

Pep still has a year left on his contract, so he isn't going anywhere. I feel they'll build again, strengthen in the summer, and be right back challenging for the biggest honours. I don't think the Club World Cup helped them with all the extra football they've had to play either.

It hasn't quite clicked for them, because they’re in a transition period. They've bought new players and it's going to take time for them to adjust to Guardiola's style of play. Looking at Erling Haaland, he’s missing the kind of service someone like Kevin De Bruyne used to give him, and the chances he used to create. I just think there are going to be big changes in the summer, but they'll be back, though, for sure.

Mikel Arteta of Arsenal vs Pep Guardiola of Man City

It's Arteta vs Guardiola in the Premier League title race - and this Sunday's Carabao Cup Final (Image credit: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Another huge game the same day sees Tottenham play Nottingham Forest. The mood has been lifted slightly after a good draw away at Liverpool, before beating Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, despite going out of the Champions League. This game is a cup final for Igor Tudor’s side, and it has a winner-takes-all feel to it.

It'll be a fascinating game. If Tottenham win, then I think they will stay up. A draw or a defeat still leaves them looking over their shoulders.

I’ll finish this week with a bit of a funny story about Glenn Murray. I work with him on BBC 5Live and there’s a bit of a running joke now. I think we were preparing to go live one time, and we all heard someone saying: “Who on earth is Glenn Murray?”

We always just take the mick out of him and got these T-shirts printed saying: "Who on earth is Glenn Murray?" I love It, and he does, too. It’s good banter and I love winding him up!

Clinton Morrison is a former international striker and prominent sports broadcaster best known for his two successful spells at Crystal Palace, where he scored over 100 goals. Over a 19-year playing career, he made more than 700 appearances for clubs including Birmingham City and Coventry City, while also earning 36 caps for the Republic of Ireland and travelling to the 2002 World Cup. Since retiring in 2016, he has transitioned into a ubiquitous media personality, bringing his energetic and charismatic style to major outlets like Sky Sports (Soccer Saturday), the BBC (Match of the Day and 5 Live), ITV and now FourFourTwo.

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