The Premier League is back, and this Saturday sees the resumption of what was once a fierce and bitter rivalry as Arsenal entertain Manchester United at the Emirates. While The Gunners versus The Red Devils ceased to be a clash between two genuine title challengers about a decade ago, there’s every indication that this could once again become a tense and highly entertaining game, albeit for different reasons.
So without further ado, allow The18 to ease you into the weekend’s choice fixture.
Bread-based Ligaments?
Injury crises have been an unwanted hallmark of Louis van Gaal’s tenure as manager of Manchester United to date, and the international break hasn’t been kind to the Dutchman. David de Gea, Angel di Maria, Luke Shaw and Michael Carrick are all doubts for Saturday’s clash against Arsenal having picked up knocks whilst away on international duty, while Daley Blind sustained knee ligament damage during the Netherlands’ clash with Latvia and could be out for up to seven weeks.
Throw in long-term absentees Rafael, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Johnny Evans, Ashley Young and Radamel Falcao, and suddenly United look threadbare not just in defense but across the whole pitch.
All of which begs the question: is Manchester United’s squad made entirely of a biscuit?
Squawka shows us how bad the injury problem is for Louis van Gaal. (Photo:@Squawka | Twitter)
Injuries: A Good Thing?
Of course, Arsenal are the perennial walking wounded, never having more than 38% of their first team squad available at any one time (ok, we’ve just made that up), and this season is proving no different. Debate rages over the root cause of Arsenal’s injury malaise, with explanations ranging from the departure of long-term physio Gary Lewin back 2008, through to the higher levels of possession Wenger’s teams typically enjoy.
Laurent Koscielny and Mathieu Debuchy continue to be absent from Arsenal’s defensive line, and given Wenger’s stubborn refusal to make defensive signings of any calibre (with the possible exception of 19-year-old Callum Chambers), The Gunners will, just like United, enter this game with a sub-par defensive line.
There is of course a huge upside here for the neutral. While The18 wishes ill will upon no man, two defenses so barren of first team talent could make for an entertaining, error-strewn and goal-laden clash, particularly given the relative quality of each side in the final third of the pitch.
Arsenal vs. Man United is the all-time third highest scoring fixture in English Football, and there’s every likelihood it will add handsomely to that tally this weekend, though each team may take rather different paths to goal…
Ways to Skin a Cat, Part 1
Alexis Sanchez will need to be in top form for Arsenal to earn a much needed three points. (Photo:@weloba_en | Twitter)
Alexis Sanchez has had a hand in more than half of Arsenal’s 19 league goals this season, and has scored 12 in his last 14 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions. When one compares his movement and pace to the defensive naiveté of United’s cobbled-together back four (Valencia? Carrick? Smalling? McNair?), along with the absence of Blind shielding and marshalling further forward, we can only surmise that the Chilean will add further notches to whatever goal-measuring device he uses this weekend.
Ways to Skin a Cat, Part 2
Marouane Fellaini should play a big part in the Manchester United attack this weekend. (Photo:@Squawka | Twitter)Marouane Fellaini should play a big part in the Manchester United attack this weekend. (Photo:@Squawka | Twitter)
As Bafetimbi Gomis so ruthlessly demonstrated during Arsenal’s week 11 capitulation to Swansea, Arsene Wenger’s insistence on playing fullback Nacho Monreal alongside Per Mertesacker in central defence leaves the Gunners woefully exposed to aerial bombardment. Indeed, only Burnley have conceded more headed goals than Arsenal so far this season.
So don’t be surprised if 6ft 4in (excluding afro) Marouane Fellaini is given a prominent role for United at The Emirates on Saturday. Just because it’s obvious doesn’t mean it can’t work.
Return of the Food Fights?
Arsenal vs. Manchester United fixtures used to be ferocious affairs: pre-match fisticuffs in the tunnel, mid-match monkey impressions (not in a racist way; Martin Keown’s demeanour is naturally simian) and post-match pizza fights, the intensity of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger’s personal feud was transmitted directly onto the pitch.
At least, it was until Arsenal ceased to be a credible threat to the United hegemony: The Red Devils have lost just one of their last 14 matches in all competitions against Arsenal, which goes a great way to explaining the reconciliation between Ferguson and Wenger. When “Sir” changes his opinion of you from “he’s a novice” to “I have the utmost admiration for him” you know you’re in trouble.
But with Sir Alex gone, and with both squads unhealthily top-heavy, The Gunners against The Red Devils could become a tense and entertaining affair once more. Not because either team is challenging for the league, but because they could very conceivably be the two teams duking it out for the fourth and last Champions League spot come May.
How the mighty have fallen, but how the entertainment levels may benefit.
