A top-four chance on the line as Arsenal face Manchester United
After their humiliating loss in France on Thursday, Arsenal return to the Emirates to try and put some more pressure on the race for top four as Manchester United arrive in league play. This tie represents Arsenal’s last match against a top-six side for the season.
A win combined with the Gunners’ more favourable fixture list could give Arsenal a step up in the challenge for that last Champions League spot. The good thing for Arsenal is the match is played at home, where the Gunners have been on absolute fire.
The bad thing for Arsenal? They are going up against a side that have been impressive run since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In fact, it feels like Solskjaer has his side performing like Fergie would’ve and that should worry us Arsenal supporters.
When last we met
In league play last time, Manchester United were a different beast. Managed by Jose Mourinho who’s style is well-known, the 2-2 tie at Old Trafford was an interesting affair, to say the least. Arsenal looked dominant at times but with their poor defence, they lacked the ability to keep a stuttering United at bay and paid for it.
Fast forward to the FA Cup and the reality is this, Manchester United, were the better side and in the end, able to dispatch Arsenal quite easily. Unai Emery’s side played right into Solskjaer’s hands and the visitors deservedly won and advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
For Arsenal, that match summarised every issue they’ve faced this season from miserable defending, to lacklustre attacking play and untimely injuries.
Manchester United were ascendant in the match and jumped to an early 2-0 lead with Arsenal snatching one back before the break with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang putting away one.
The two teams traded chances but it was United who put it away in the 82nd minute as Petr Cech spilt a rebound that Anthony Martial was able to smash away. The goal resulted in kicking Arsenal out the FA Cup and extended United’s unbeaten run to eight.
Typical of a Fergie-led side, United were more than happy to let Arsenal have the lion’s share of possession. Emery had his side ready to play and Arsenal initially started to play with aggression and positive forward play
It was an injury to centre-back Sokratis that seemed to throw everything into chaos as he was replaced by the oft-maligned Mustafi. The tandem of Koscielny and Mustafi seemed unbalanced and it showed.
With United preferring to cede possession to Arsenal, the Red Devils were set up to try and hit the home side on the counter. Lingard played as a false nine behind the two split forwards, Sanchez and Lukaku.
When Arsenal’s full-backs pushed up the pitch, Solskjaer had this duo in the half-spaces vacated by full-backs. Lukaku admitted after the game that they simply waited for the ball to be played over the top in those situations.
This tactic had a devastating effect down as the home side’s centre-half pairing were faced with a barrage of three-v-two and four-v-two situations as United breaking in numbers. It was a situation that was exasperated by the apparent lack of communication between Koscielny and Mustafi who failed to consistently set up for the offsides trap.
It was a poor performance and it shows that Arsenal have to be wary today and Emery has to get his tactics right or he could face the frightening prospect of having both routes to the Champion’s League cut off in a span of three days.
Emery’s challenge
The Thursday fixture was a more exhausting affair then Emery would probably have liked. With the Sokratis red card just before the half, his team, which included likely starters, the side was under a constant barrage that couldn’t have been good for their legs or attitude.
Emery is going to have to look across his team and decide what changes to make in light of that. I fully expect that both Özil and Aubameyang will not feature. In the case of Aubameyang, I would regard this as a big mistake.
Sure, the Gabon striker is misfiring, but one of Emery’s best tactics is when he has employed both Lacazette and Aubameyang up top putting pressure on the opposition’s back line by trying to play up along the line keeping the defenders honest but also acted in opening them up.
With both forwards’ excellent ability to run into space, it has continually acted as a threat against even the big sides.
The midfield though is where Emery has choices to make. In the FA Cup tie, he opted for usual – play it wide trend and ignored the midfield. The visiting side were prepared for Arsenal’s wide overloads as they went into one-v-one situations with players covering both the winger and wing-back on either flank.
Kolasinac was completely marked out of the game by Ashley Young which had the added impact of taking Iwobi out of the game as well.
What will Emery do then? Especially with the likes of Torreira out? It’s clear he will opt for Guendouzi to sit in alongside Xhaka with Ramsey in as the 10. Frankly, I am not sure it’s the wisest of decisions.
First, the tandem of Xhaka and Gendouzi doesn’t seem to work as well as either of those players with Torreira. Additionally, Ramsey isn’t a ten. We all know he is a box-to-box midfielder.
This set-up before in the FA Cup match forced the midfield two of Torreira and Xhaka to push up as Ramsey’s movement and style of play had them pushed up forward, which had the bad effect of leaving space for Pogba to operate in.
I’m not sure I wouldn’t try something radically different and go with Ramsey alongside Xhaka or Guendouzi and Özil as the ten. Ramsey could operate in his box-to-box role, making runs off of Özil who would be operating in space in the midfield which would give Arsenal more effective options in attack then just wide overlaps.
It’s a big test for Emery and he has to get it right here.
The opponent
A lot has been made about Solskjaer’s return to United and based on their form, it is likely we will see him appointed full-time manager at the end of this season.
When United started out under OGS, and the general consensus was they were playing “easy teams” they would dominate those games by having lots of possession and establishing passing triangles, particularly on the left with Martial, Pogba and Shaw.
Then, when United entered that run of fixtures facing other top clubs (Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea), Solskjaer adopted a counter-attacking approach in a 4-3-1-2 formation with split strikers and no static front man. Previously they had played 4-3-3 with a very mobile Rashford centrally.
They have conceded quite a few goals though, and the result is we’re now seeing a much more pragmatic side to Solskjaer’s setup. Their collective defending has been very good recently and which has come at the expense of the fluid attacking play of his early games.
The attacking play is much more sporadic as they focus almost entirely now on quick counter-attacking than dominating possession. This change has been the key to their defensively sound performances vs Liverpool and PSG.
If they have a weakness right now it has to be defensively. You can’t survive on being a counter-attacking side the whole time. Against Tottenham, for instance, it was the sheer will and brilliance of David de Gea that saved them.
Players to watch
Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey
United: Romelu Lukaku
Form (last five)
Arsenal: LWWWD
United: WWDWW
Arsenal record vs Manchester United
229M 82W 48D 99L (all competitions)
53M 13W 16D 24L (Premier League)
Goals scored average per game
Arsenal: 2.33 (home)
United: 2.00 (away)
Goals conceded average per game
Arsenal: .80 (home)
United: 1.33 (away)
What the head coach says (courtesy Arsenal.com)
“We played against a big team and at some moments showed we can fight and battle with them, but we lost and that is the reality. We need on Sunday to do some different tactical and individual work and after find better efficiency against them.
“We need fresh players, players with energy, we need quality, we need good combinations, and we need the players who start on the bench after they can help us on the pitch and deliver a big performance as well.
“It is not a definitive [match]. We are in a way of being consistent, we have 38 matches and Sunday is against Manchester United against a team who also battle for 38 matches and it is important to do it in this moment because this three points are for us or for them.
“I don’t think it is definitive, but we need to show and push on Sunday to take more possibility to finish in the top four.”
Match officials
Referee: Jonathan Moss (25M 65Y 5R)
Assistants: Simon Bennett, Marc Perry
Fourth official: Martin Atkinson
Broadcast information
UK: Sky Sports 16.30 GMT
US: NBC 11:30 AM EST
Match facts (courtesy BBC.co.uk)
- Manchester United’s last two visits to the Emirates Stadium in league and cup have ended in 3-1 victories.
- They last won three consecutive away games against the Gunners between 1983 and 1985.
- This will be the 200th league meeting between the sides.
- Nine of Arsenal’s 13 Premier League victories over Manchester United have been in games played on a Sunday.
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 14 home league games (W12, D2), winning the last eight.
- Their three defeats in the previous 41 top-flight matches at the Emirates Stadium all came against the two Manchester clubs: two versus City, one against United.
- Arsenal have earned 38 Premier League points at home this season, a tally exceeded only by Manchester City’s 42.
- The Gunners have taken nine points from eight games against established top-six rivals this season (W2, D3, L4). They earned just six points in total in such matches last term.
- Unai Emery is looking to become the first Arsenal boss to avoid defeat in his first two top-flight meetings with Manchester United since George Swindin in 1958-59.
- Laurent Koscielny is set for his 250th Premier League appearance.
- Alexandre Lacazette can become the second Arsenal player to score in six consecutive home Premier League games. Thierry Henry did so twice at Highbury.
YAMA Predicts
Arsenal 2 – 2 Mancester United
Conclusion
Emery has to get his tactics spot on. No one thought the top-four route to the Champions League would really be available this season. But it is and he has a chance to solidify it.
A win against a resurgent United would give them a boost with the easiest run-in of the three challengers for that top-four spot. A loss or draw could lock them out of it.
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