Manchester United will be looking for its first away win of the season when the team visits its old rivals Arsenal on today.
United usually enjoy the upper hand against the Gunners with four wins in its last six meetings but the team is looking for its first win in three attempts at the Emirates Stadium.
This game will be a sobering reminder to both sides of how the team has fallen in the league hierarchy. Battles between Arsenal and Manchester United used to be huge six-pointers in the title race but this will be a game between two sides targeting the top three at the end of the season.
Arsene Wenger already conceded that his side is unlikely to mount a successful title challenge after witnessing the Gunners relinquish a lead before suffering a 2-1 defeat at Swansea. That loss opened up a 12-point gap between Arsenal and a rampant Chelsea side, whose title charge is showing no signs of relenting.
United may have improved its attacking performances in comparison to last season but the Red Devils is still blighted by too many problems to successfully go all the way this season. Louis van Gaal’s side could potentially be without 10 senior players for this game, the team is still transitioning to Van Gaal’s philosophy and they have serious defensive problems.
Arsenal and United may still come short in terms of successfully challenging for the ultimate prize but they will still be involved in a tasty battle with a couple of interesting subplots.
The centre forwards will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention in this game. Robin van Persie will return to the Emirates Stadium as a foe against an Arsenal side he captained and with which he had a lot of memorable moments. Danny Welbeck, who came through United’s academy and went on to make 142 appearances for the Manchester giants, will have a point to prove against his former employers after Van Gaal famously revealed that Welbeck had to go because his goal return was not good enough for United.
Wenger has recently deployed Alexis Sanchez in different central positions and the Chilean has been thriving with a good goal return, so the Gunners boss will probably start his top scorer as a central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 formation because that will reduce Sanchez’s defensive responsibilities, allowing him to focus more on his attacking game.
For United, Smalling and possibly Jones could start in central defence, which should allow Carrick to retain his place as a holding midfielder. In the absence of Falcao, Van Gaal is set to continue with the 4-1-4-1 formation he has been employing, with Van Persie leading the attacks as a lone centre forward.
Arsenal will be slight favourites to win this contest and they should enjoy more possession, but the team will have to be wary of Angel Di Maria in quick transitions. Di Maria thrives against a side like Arsenal, who leave a lot of space behind when attacking.
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