The day has come, and the stage is finally set for the long-awaited showdown between old foes Arsenal and Manchester United, when they battle it out in the English Premier League at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
Both sides have had a topsy-turvy start to their premier league campaign, with neither of their victories convincing that they will go all the way to challenge Manchester City for the league title come end of the season.
As early as it may to make such an audacious statement, even despite City also not winning their last two games convincingly, Pep Guardiola’s men showed championship mentality and are already leading the pack on top of the log standings with nine points.
With three games in the new season, the Gunners are currently occupying position five with seven points – having edged past Nottingham Forest 2-1, Crystal Palace 1-0 and drew 2-2 against Fulham last weekend.
Mikel Arteta received a massive boost in their last line of attack as Brazilian Gabriel Jesus returned to fitness recently, who is expected to start his first game anytime soon.
United, for their part, it will be a tough outing at the Emirates as their major concerns on the pitch are already visible – with their midfielder not showing any signs that they will be able to conjure any spark defensively and offensively.
The Red Devils were evidently not convincing in all their three games, narrowly winning against Wolverhampton, losing against Tottenham Hotspurs, and forced to dig deep to coming from two-goals behind to win 3-2 in a pulsating five-goal thriller against 10-men Nottingham last Saturday.
It goes without saying that the departure of Fred to Fenerbahce has not done United any favour, as Erik ten Hag will have no choice but to depend on the midfield pivot of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, as there aren’t many options to select from
The duo will undoubtedly have a colossal task of having to break Arsenal’s line of attack, with Thomas Partey and Declan Rice expected to suffocate them and win most of the duals in the middle of the park.
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