Arsenal vs Manchester United: 3 things to watch out for | Premier League 2019-20

#2 Winning the midfield battle

Fred

Arsenal’s match against Chelsea witnessed a rapid turn-around after midfielder Jorginho was introduced in the second half and Chelsea changed their shape from 3-4-3 to 4-3-3. Prior to that substitution, Arsenal were dominating the proceedings in the midfield and had been the better team. However, Jorginho’s robust tackling and astute passing made sure that Chelsea came back into the match strongly.

Arsenal have shown a possession-oriented approach under Arteta so far and rarely lost the ball in the middle third in the first half against Chelsea. Whenever they were uncomfortable in possession, they played back passes to their own half to make sure that the possession was not conceded.

Solskjaer would have to keep that in mind and would need his own midfielders to hold the ball and slow down the game at times. United forwards have excelled whenever they have been given an opportunity to counter-attack swiftly.

However, they might not get many such opportunities against the Gunners on Wednesday and should be prepared to grind it out in a tactical midfield battle. Fred is going to be a crucial player for United with his passing range and darting runs.