Arsenal vs Manchester United : Match Preview

Manchester United will Travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with the possibility of completing the double over Arsenal.

This particular fixture seems to be the most anticipated and the most awaited fixtures among the Arsenal supporters after their humiliating defeat at Old Trafford back in August, which goes down as one of the heaviest league defeats in 84 years. Arsenal have not lost a league Game by such a margin since 1927.

While on the other end, Manchester United will be looking to win in order to stay within touching distance of their local rivals Manchester City, who will host Tottenham Hotspurs on Sunday.

ARSENAL:

Sucessive league defeats have left Arsenal four points behind Chelsea who are currently at fourth in the table, and 10 points behind Tottenham Hotspurs. Arsene Wenger has blasted the sloppy work of his defence after Sunday’s game. Wenger said, “I felt there were some odd turning points in the game, like when we went to 2-2, we straight away made a defensive mistake”. He further added, “It was similar for me to the Fulham game, a lack of appreciation of the ball, our performance was not good enough and that is why we lost the game”. Wenger acknowledged that the defence needed to improve quickly.

Arsene Wenger believes that his side is still a long way from the title challenge this season, but he said, “We have to work hard for qualifying for the Champions League spot next season.”

Arsenal’s defence looks vulnerable this season. They have just managed a single clean sheet in the last six league matches and conceded eight goals. The signing of 6″6′ Per Mertesacker form Werder Bremen didn’t help the situation at Emirates this season, who hasn’t been able to adapt to the demands of the Premier League since joining the Gunners back in August. Laurent Koscielny has been one of the best Centre-Backs in the PL with 58% interceptions so far this season and a passing accuracy of 85% .

Although Arsenal have the worst start to a season in their Premier League history, they have recovered remarkably well.

Johan Djourou admits Arsenal are out for revenge in Sunday’s PL showdown with Manchester United. “It’s a fantastic game for us after Swansea, which was difficult to swallow”, the Swiss told The Sun. “It will be a bounce back game. We have the away game still in our minds, so there is revenge to take.”

MANCHESTER UNITED:

Veteran Paul Scholes decided to come out of retirement, a decision hailed by Sir Alex Ferguson and his teammates alike. The decision came about due to the midfield crisis at the club. Manchester United recently struggled against Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle where they failed to control the game. Not only with the midfield, United have their issues with the back four in the absence of Nemanja Vidic, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage. Smalling said, “Not many teams have lost players of the calibre of Vidic and Darren Fletcher for such a lengthy period and yet we’re challenging for the lead”. Seems like Chris Smalling will be fully fit ahead of the mouth-watering encounter after recovering from tonsillitis, which is a huge boost as he provides additional stability and balance to the United back four.

Stats:

Since 10/11, Man Utd have won 76% of PL games with Smalling starting, and 58% without him. Manchester United have managed four clean sheets in the last six league games and fired 17 goals. United have been terrific in away games this season, where they managed to collect 23 points from a possible of 30 points, conceding just six goals.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United’s Premier League dominance counts for nothing in this season’s title race. He firmly believes this title race could go down to the last week of the season.

Team News:

Arsenal

A long injury list has left Wenger with very few options on the bench.

Probable line -ups

Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny will be first choice at centre-back while Johan Djourou and Miquel will be the two full backs starting. Arteta should recover from his calf injury to return to the starting line-up after missing the game at Liberty Stadium. Looks like Aaron Ramsey with Theo Walcott and Arshavin will hold the attacking line with Robin Van Perse up front.

Manchester United

United recently had some goalkeeping issues over the past few weeks. Seems like Anders Lindegaard will start for the fourth game in a row. With Chris Smalling fit for the clash after recovering from tonsillitis, United’s bench looks very solid after Rafael Da Silva played for a full 90-minutes for the first time this season since August. Anderson is in line to recover from a knock. Paul Scholes is the favourite to partner Michael Carrick, who had an impressive game last Saturday against Bolton. With Valencia, who also had a very impressive run against Bolton, raring to go once again and Nani on the left, they will be keen to have a go at the Arsenal full backs who are struggling at the moment. Park Ji Sung, who has a splendid record against the Gunners, may also get a nod. United are still unsure at the moment about Welbeck, who suffered a minor knee injury against Bolton on Saturday.

Form Guide:

Manchester United: W L L W W W

Arsenal: L L W D W L

Match Referee: Mike Dean

Manchester United have had 4 clean sheets in their last six games, while Arsenal have just managed to have one in the last six.

Head to Head

No. of meetings – 213

Man Utd wins – 89

Arsenal wins – 78

Draws – 46

Most player appearances – Ryan Giggs (46)

Last meeting: Manchester United 8 Arsenal 2 at Old Trafford