Arsenal vs Manchester United: 3 things to watch out for

Arsenal face Manchester United at the Emirates stadium on the New Year’s Day in a crucial English Premier League match. It would be a battle of wits between two young managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mikel Arteta.

It would be Arteta’s third match as the Arsenal manager, and he would definitely look to earn at least a point from it. Arsenal squandered a 1-0 lead to concede two late goals against Chelsea last Sunday, and would try to put that heart-breaking defeat behind themselves. The improvement in their performance under the new manager was quite evident, but it can not be forgotten that they are at the 12th position in the league table with 24 points from 20 matches.

Manchester United, on the other hand, are fresh from their two successive victories against Newcastle United and Burnley, and would try to secure all three points against the Gunners too. They are at the 5th position in the league table with 31 points from 20 matches, and trail 4th placed Chelsea by four points. They should be hopeful of their chances of finishing within the top 4, but for that to happen, they would have to win crucial away matches.

We would now take a look at the three crucial factors to watch out for in tomorrow’s match:

#1 Mesut Ozil’s form

Mesut Ozil had a splendid match against Chelsea, and would look forward to dominate the proceedings again versus Manchester United on Wednesday. Ozil played some deft one-touch passes in order to open up spaces in the final third against Chelsea, and the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette would again be expecting some nice passes from the maestro, who has played in 241 matches for Arsenal so far.

Solskjaer might play Nemanja Matic and Fred as the double pivot in order to negate the threat posed by Ozil. Matic especially, might be key man with his imposing size and work-rate, and might have a crucial role to play in containing Ozil. Ozil also has a tendency to veer towards the right flank and then deliver passes, and Brandon Williams, the young United left-back, would have some reasons to worry.

However, if Arsenal are to exert their supremacy in tomorrow’s match, their German playmaker must be at his inspiring best.

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#2 Winning the midfield battle

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.

#3 United’s young forwards up against the vulnerable Arsenal defense

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial have scored 16 and 10 goals respectively this season, and both of them scored in the 2-0 away win against Burnley. They would definitely fancy their chances of scoring against an Arsenal defense depleted with injuries. David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi should start in the central defense for Arsenal, as both Sokratis and Callum Chambers are injured.

However, Hector Bellerin might return to the playing eleven, and his presence should boost the team’s morales. Saka would continue to play as the make-shift left-back as SeadKolasinac is still injured. He will have the unenviable task of containing the pacey and skillful Daniel James. Moreover, Andreas Perreira, who is likely to feature as the No. 10, would try to exert more pressure on the Arsenal central defense.

It would be very difficult for the Arsenal defense to withstand the onslaught of the young United forwards. However, to their credit, they defended well against Chelsea last Sunday till Bernd Leno committed a howler to allow Chelsea to score the equalizer. They would definitely take heart from that performance, and try to keep a clean sheet against the Red Devils.