Manchester United vs Arsenal: BigMatchPreview

When: Manchester United V/S Arsenal, 1st October 2019, Tuesday at 12:30 am IST

Where: Old Trafford, Manchester

Match Referee: Kevin Friend

VAR: Mike Dean

Quick Facts:

1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 6 goals in the first six games of the season, which is the most by an Arsenal player since 2007-08 when Emmanuel Adebayor came up with the same tally.
2. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost his first league game against Arsenal as Manchester United boss, and will become only the fourth man, first since Dave Sexton in 1977-78, to lose his first two games against the Gunners if the result on Monday night goes against the hosts.

Head to Head: Played-54, Manchester United-24, Arsenal-14, Drawn-16

Last Five Encounters:

• ARSENAL 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 0, 10TH MARCH 2019
• MANCHESTER UNITED 2 ARSENAL 2, 5TH DECEMBER 2018
• MANCHESTER UNITED 2 ARSENAL 1, 29TH APRIL 2018
• ARSENAL 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 3, 2ND DECEMBER 2017
• ARSENAL 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 0, 7TH MAY 2017

Who fares well in this fixture?

Jesse Lingard has come up with 4 goals against Arsenal in all competitions, which is more than he has managed against any other opponent.

Team Preview: Manchester United

It was an exciting summer window for Manchester United as they seemed to have to addressed their biggest issue ever since Vidic and Ferdinand left, that is to have a proper center half partnership. The signing of Harry Maguire gave United the opportunity to build their defense around someone, in Lindelof he had an able partner to work with. Add to that, the signing of Wan-Bisakka meant united could field in a really strong back four. Indeed it has paid dividends as only Liverpool(5) and Leicester City(5) have conceded fewer goals than the Red Devils(6).

While the defense is more reliable, the attack is anything but. Only Sheffield United(7) have scored lesser goals than United(8) in the top half of the table. The lack of goal threat is as clear as daylight. Anthony Martial looked like he could be the premium goal-scorer before he got injured. Rashford has looked totally out of touch, and now he has picked up an injury too. Furthermore United’s best player by a distance, Paul Pogba being injured has meant that they are relying on a kid in Dan James to step up to the plate. That says it all!

On Monday, Solskjaer’s men take on a reinvigorated Arsenal at Old Trafford, an opposition United love playing against. The Red Devils have to lift themselves for this one, following two abject performances in the last week , albeit one of them resulted in a victory in a penalty shoot-out. A win would put them right back in the reckoning for the top 4, given Arsenal’s away form, it may not be that daunting a task after all!

Team News:

United boss confirmed that Martial, Rashford, Shaw and Jones are all ruled out of this fixture. Paul Pogba’s involvement is on thin ice, after he picked up yet another injury midweek against Rochdale in the Carabao cup. Bailly remains out with a long term injury.

Team Preview: Arsenal

Everything in North London is rosy again. That is usually the case when Arsenal have a run of home games. After an abysmal second-half display at Vicarage Road, the Gunners have won three straight games in three different competitions. That means Unai Emery ‘s side head in to this game with a great deal of confidence. Young players coming to the fore, key defenders returning from injury and new club captain or should I say first choice captain appointed. We still can’t figure out as to how Granit Xhaka became that guy! Gunners are firing !

Now, coming back to reality, Arsenal have conceded 1.67 goals per game this campaign, which is the worst in the club’s history. And to make matters worse, if one would have to pick a stand-out performance from the gunners against a big six opposition away from home, you would still go back to “that” performance against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in January 2015. Ironically enough, the star of the show that day, Francis Coquelin, has won more matches since, against the Premier League’s big six than Arsenal have and he is not even playing in the premier league. That shows how poor the North London side have fared in big games.

So can Arsenal break the jinx at Old Trafford? Can they really turn up for a big game away from home? It will be a massive test of character for Emery’s men and a win would not only strengthen their push for top 4 , but will also dent Manchester United’s aspirations to return to Europe ‘s elite competition via the Premier League.

Team News: Alex Lacazette is the only injury worry for Unai Emery. Apart from that, he now has a full squad to choose from. Tierney, Bellerin and Holding could all make their first appearances in the premier league this season. Mesut Ozil though, may once against sit on the bench.

Did you know?

• Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has only won 4 out of his 14 Premier league matches since he was given the hot-seat on a permanent basis.
• Manchester United have lost three of their last half a dozen home games in the Premier League, as many as they had in their previous 52 games.
• Old Trafford has been a “Theatre of Nightmares” for Arsenal as they’ve not won any of their last 14 games, drawing 4 and losing the other 8, including dare I say the most infamous game in the club’s history, “the 8-2 game”.
• This season in the premier league, Manchester United (4) have won more penalties than any other side while Arsenal (3) have conceded the most.

Probable XIs

Manchester United (4-3-3)

David de Gea, Aaron Wan-Bisakka, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Ashley Young, Scott Mctominay, Fred, Andreas Perreira Jesse Lingard, Dan James, Mason Greenwood

Arsenal (4-3-1-2)

Leno, Bellerin, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Torreira, Xhaka, Ceballos, Pepe, Aubameyang

Combined XI (4-3-3)

De Gea, Wan-Bisakka, Maguire, Lindelof, Kolasinac, Mctominay, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Pepe, Dan James, Aubameyang

AllAboutFPL Verdict

Prediction: Manchester United 1 Arsenal 1

Arsenal do go into the Monday night’s game as favorites given United’s long injury list, however, the home side’s resilience at the back could prove to be a hard hurdle to cross for the Gunners. It could well be a tight affair with lesser amount of goals than we’ve seen in other big games thus far this season.

Cheers for reading the big match preview, drop in your predictions in the comments below and don’t forget to subscribe to stay updated on quality FPL and premier league content!