Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United meet Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, with three points being what both sides need – a Red Devils win would take United back to the top of the table but if the hosts prevail, they’ll draw level with United on points.
With United’s players supposedly “tired” and Arsenal having some key figures missing, it’ll be an interesting contest – here’s what our writers think will happen…
Chris Cherry
From 1995 to 2004, the Premier League was a two-horse race between Manchester United and Arsenal under Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger respectively. However, the rise of Manchester City and Chelsea has seen this fixture become less about title deciders but more about the historical animosity surrounding the two teams over the past two decades.
With Manchester United top of the league though and Arsenal only three points behind, this game can perhaps return to what used to be one of the fiercest rivalries in English football.
Arsenal finally have a decent ‘keeper between the sticks in Petr Cech, but as with many seasons before, the back four often look uneasy and naive. With Memphis, Mata, Martial and Rooney starting to gel together and look a threat when on the attack, they could give Arsenal a few headaches.
This is where I think Martial will specifically cause problems, he’s so quick when darting behind defenders, so strong at holding up the ball for his teammates and one of the best clinical finishers I have seen from an under-21 player, against a shaky Arsenal defence I think he will be a nightmare for them.
On the other hand, with Luke Shaw sidelined at least 6 months, van Gaal will have to reshuffle his back four which has performed brilliantly for most of the season so far; this will maybe give the revitalised Walcott and Sanchez the chance to bbe dangerous when going forward.
With Arsenal wanting to recover from another Champions League disaster and United wanting to hold on to first place in the league and put some distance between themselves and their opponents, expect a high scoring game with everything to gain and lose.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 (Sanchez, Walcott) Man United 3 (Martial x2, Rooney)
Lewis Catchpole
This Sunday’s trip to the Emirates will be the toughest test this United side has had to face so far this season and I see Arsenal performing a lot better than they did in midweek against Olympiacos.
Juan Mata will continue his fine form from his false winger position proving to be instrumental in the team’s performance. Anthony Martial will also be looking to prove that Wenger was wrong to overlook him during the summer transfer window as not an out and out striker, and will punish his fellow Frenchman’s decision by scoring the decisive goal allowing United to come away from London with the three points.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 (Sanchez) Man United 2 (Mata, Martial)
James Browning
With United having won in midweek and Arsenal having lost, the dressing room discussions before the game will have different emphasis, but I see the two previous results having a similar effect; United will be playing well through confidence, but Arsenal will be on a similar level as they have a point to prove.
That said, I fancy a fairly comfortable win for United, although I do can’t see a clean sheet for David de Gea. It’ll go in 1-1 at the break with the Red Devils triumphing in a dominant second half.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 (Ozil) Man United 3 (Martial, Schweinsteiger, Rooney)
Matt Brown
This game should play right into United’s hands, judging by Arsenal’s style. Louis van Gaal’s men will not have as much of the ball as usually is the case in this game, but that can give the team an added danger on the break, especially through players like Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial.
However, for as good as United’s defence has been this season, Arsenal will pose the toughest test yet. I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger’s men win this game, but they are certainly capable of scoring against us. This will be a good game between two attack-minded sides, but their similarities will lead to them cancelling each other out, so I’m going for a draw.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 2 (Walcott, Alexis) Man United 2 (Memphis, Martial)
Arsalan Motavali
The start of a very tough month for Manchester United comes at the Emirates versus long-time rivals Arsenal. United come into this game with a lot of confidence and togetherness after winning their past four consecutive games and valiantly overturning the result against Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have had a stop-start season and they come into this game looking to get back on the right track after another Champions League loss. Despite Manchester United’s good form, Arsenal will come into this game looking to set the record right and begin to overturn their poor head-to-head record against United. Arsenal could look to expose a United side that are rumoured to be “tired”, but Arsenal will be missing key players such as Koscielny, Coquelin and Arteta which could make this an uphill task for the gunners.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 (Walcott) Man United 2 (Martial, Mata)
Reginaldo Rosario
Manchester United are certainly flying high right now, top of the Premier League and coming off the back of a comeback Champions League win against Wolfsburg in midweek, while Arsenal will be looking to fight back after suffering an embarrassing defeat against Olympiakos.
The Gunners may see this as a platform to bounce back, but with Laurent Koscielny missing, I expect Anthony Martial to carry on his fine start for the Reds by tormenting Per Mertesacker with his pace and power. United to take all three points from the Emirates and remain top.
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1 (Sanchez) Man United 2 (Martial x2)
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