5 reasons why Manchester United can beat Arsenal

Manchester United and Arsenal will renew hostilities at the Emirates this Sunday as they lock horns in a Premier League encounter.

Arsenal beat United 3-2 in this exact fixture last season, all the way back on January 22, in what was a riveting battle from start to finish. With the game looking set to end deadlocked, an Eddie Nketiah strike in the 90th minute ensured Arsenal bagged all three points.

The Gunners and the Red Devils share one of the Premier League's famous rivalries. It is without a doubt the biggest fixture of this Premier League gameweek and excitement will reach a fever pitch by the time we approach kickoff on Sunday September 3.

While the odds might favour an Arsenal victory, we believe there is reason enough to believe Manchester United can cause an upset here.

Without further ado, let's take a look at five reasons why Manchester United can beat Arsenal on Sunday.

#5 All the pressure is on Arsenal

Much to everyone's surprise, Arsenal threw caution to the wind in the 2022-23 Premier League season and played some scintillating football. They were at the top of the Premier League table for a total of 248 days before eventually getting beaten to the title by Manchester City.

But giving this City team, that won the continental trouble, a run for their money is quite a commendable achievement in itself.

But due to their impressive run last term, things have changed for Arsenal this time around. The stakes are a bit higher and they're expected to do as well or even better this season.

Last term, the Gunners buckled, not too long after the pressure was on them, to go and win the Premier League title. They capitulated before they could pull the trigger.

Arsenal have not started this season in the most confidant fashion. There will be even more pressure on them as they go up against Manchester United on Sunday.

#4 Gunners likely to be low on confidence after draw against Fulham

Last Saturday (August 26) against Fulham, Arsenal fell behind as early as the first minute of the match. But they fought back admirably to make it 2-1 by the 72nd minute. The Cottagers were subsequently reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute as Calvin Bassey was shown a second yellow for a challenge on Eddie Nketiah.

The Gunners should have seen the game out without much hassle and taken all three points. Unfortunately they allowed Fulham to get an equalizer with Joao Palhinha finding the back of the net just three minutes later.

Arsenal haven't done all that well in their first three games of the season. They won 2-1 against Nottingham Forest and 1-0 against Crystal Palace in their first two outings of the new Premier League campaign.

The match against Manchester United will be their first real test of the new season. Morale is unlikely to be very high inside that Arsenal dressing room right now.

#3 Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford back in form

Manchester United went 2-0 down against Nottingham Forest within the first four minutes of their game last weekend (August 26). They showed a lot of character to fight back and eventually win the game 3-2.

Bruno Fernandes was United's star performer as they pulled off a solid comeback win. He scored a goal and provided an assist and was at his creative and functional best during the game. Another encouraging sign was that Marcus Rashford seemed to have finally hit his stride in the new season.

Rashford played a hand in all three of Manchester United's goals against Forest. He provided the assist for Christian Eriksen's equalizer before playing Fernandes into the box with a lovely floated through ball which led to Casemiro's equalizer.

Rashford then won the penalty which Fernandes converted to give United the lead and eventually all three points.

#2 Manchester United show up when their back is against the wall

Manchester United v Liverpool FC - Premier League

Although they've hardly played inspiring football in their first three matches of the 2023-24 Premier League season, Manchester United has managed two wins.

That's sizably better than the terrible start they endured in the 2022-23 campaign, losing to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford in embarrassing fashion in their first two matches.

But United responded emphatically to those losses and beat Liverpool 2-1 in their subsequent game. A couple of weeks later, they beat Arsenal as well and these two victories gave them the platform on which they mounted a solid Premier League campaign.

This United team responds well when they are backed up against a wall and circumstances are not too different for them ahead of their clash with Arsenal.

#1 Arsenal's defence looks unsettled

Manchester City v Arsenal - The FA Community Shield

Gabriel Magalhaes missed all of nine minutes of Arsenal's 2022-23 Premier League season. Despite being fit, he has not started any of the Gunners' first three league games of the new campaign. New signing Jurrien Timber is sidelined for a long time with an ACL injury.

Ben White is currently partnering with William Saliba at the heart of defence and Mikel Arteta is experimenting with his full-backs.

Thomas Partey started at right-back against Fulham while Jakub Kiwior started on the left flank. Oleksandr Zinchenko is tipped to return to the starting lineup against Manchester United on Sunday.

But it's worth noting that it will be his first start of the new season. If Gabriel starts, then Ben White is likely to play as the right-back. It will be the first time this season that Arteta goes for this particular combination at the back and it can be a nervy first outing for the group.