Arsenal vs Manchester United: 3 tactical subplots which will decide the winner | Premier League 2018-19

#3 Who attacks and who sits deep?

Solskjaer may prefer to sit back and counter-attack at the Emirates

While its abundantly clear that Unai Emery prefers to counter-attack, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer too has preferred this approach against big opposition like Liverpool and Chelsea. One game where he didn’t follow this approach was against Tottenham. But that almost backfired. Had it not been for David de Gea’s amazing performance in which he made 11 saves in the second half, United wouldn’t have been able to walk away with all three points.

If the FA Cup game these two sides played at the Emirates in January is any indication, United would again prefer to sit back. Since this game is at the Emirates as well, the pressure will be on Arsenal to come out and attack.

Given Emery’s preferred form of attack, which is to play from the back, the Gunners will have to be very heedful of evading United’s pressing or else Lukaku and Rashford will hurt them badly with swift counter-attacks.