To paraphrase and adapt a quote used by Harold Wilson in the mid-1960s, “Twenty years is a long time in football”. If you started watching club football around the time that I did (towards the end of the nineties), Arsenal versus Manchester United was the marquee fixture that you had to watch. Alex Ferguson up against Arsene Wenger. Usually, this fixture was seen as the proverbial weather vane which indicated which way the wind was blowing in English football.
Both teams wore red, had great players, found inspiration and drive in the middle of the park, and played attacking football. They also jousted for space at the top of the league table. They both traded blows around the turn of the millennium, with either team triumphing in the Premier League stakes for seven straight years. Problem was, there was space for only one of them. Today perhaps, the fans of both the teams would give anything in order to recreate the magic of days gone past.
Since then, the English league has been awash with foreign investment. Chelsea made a big splash and other teams duly followed their model. Alex Ferguson has retired from football management. Wenger is still the manager of the Gunners.
The big two have now expanded to include six teams (although Manchester City seem to be running away with the title so far) who are supposed to mount a serious challenge for year-end honours. Even though the marquee fixture has lost a fair bit of gloss, both teams would be raring to have a go at each other—the “Special One” versus the “specialist in failure”.
When Arsenal face Manchester United in a crucial Premier League clash on Saturday, the antics of the two managers Wenger and Mourinho on the touchline will take up as much attention as the actual match. Reuters
On the basis of recent form, Arsenal seem to be the team to beat in this fixture. After all, they have won their last three games — one against their bitter North London rivals Tottenham — and now lie in — surprise, surprise — fourth place. Their home form has been splendid with them having a perfect record so far; their recent win against Huddersfield showed what the Gunners are capable of.
However, for all the talk of Manchester United being not as “attacking”, Jose Mourinho’s wards have scored four more goals than Arsenal this season so far, and have conceded eight fewer. If Arsenal have been perfect at home, United have also won their seven home games, scored 20 goals as well and let in only one (to Arsenal’s four). Clearly, when United have clicked and played well, they have brushed aside their competition.
However, it is also true that United have struggled to replicate their performances on the road against the big teams. If Mourinho at Chelsea was adept at dominating his biggest rivals at home and away, his United side are yet to show their mettle on the road. They seem to be playing well within themselves, not eager to go toe-to-toe against opposition in their weight class.
Going into the fixture, both the teams have similar issues affecting them. Both managers will rue injuries to key players — Alexandre Lacazette for Arsenal, Eric Bailly and Nemanja Matic for United, although the latter could still make it to the team. Both teams have temperamental playmakers in Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, but the former has shown some form coming into this match. But with a tendency to go missing in the big games and the imbroglio surrounding his transfer status (that too with rumours linking him to Manchester United), will Ozil stamp his authority on Saturday?
Arsenal should line up in their familiar 3-4-3 shape with Olivier Giroud, Ozil and Alexis Sanchez leading the line. The front line might be shorn of the canny Lacazette but Ozil and Sanchez can be expected to provide Giroud with excellent service. The Arsenal defence has three consecutive clean sheets to its credit and will probably field a backline of Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny, flanked by the familiar Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac. Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka should complete the outfield lineup.
On the other hand, Mourinho has a selection headache on his hands. The goals have dried up recently for the big Belgian, Romelu Lukaku. Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial are keen runners on the left flank, but the rest of the attacking lineup remains a mystery. Paul Pogba is a certainty in central midfield; any doubts about his impact on Manchester United’s gameplay have probably been answered by the team's effervescent displays so far against lesser grade opposition; all that remains is for him to take centrestage against a big team.
If Matic isn’t fit, it will be a big blow for Manchester United. Worse, they don’t have a like-for-like replacement for the Serbian. They will miss his muscle in midfield, along with Marouane Fellaini’s physicality. All these factors could throw Ander Herrera and Juan Mata into the mix. With the injuries to Bailly and Phil Jones, the back four basically select themselves.
At one point of time, Mourinho had Wenger’s number; however, that seems to have faded a bit with two recent losses, albeit in the Community Shield, and an inconsequential league fixture (when Mourinho’s focus was clearly on the Europa League). This time around, the stakes are a lot higher. Though the talk of a league title seem distant now, there are still three points up for grabs in the UEFA Champions League spot stakes.
Expect Arsenal to dominate the game at home with loads of possession. Knowing Mourinho, he will most likely revert to his favourite party trick of packing the midfield and hope to nick an away goal. He will probably set his team up tactically for a bore 0-0 draw as his team is four points in front. As in most big games, the first goal could be crucial to the final outcome.
Published Date: Dec 02, 2017 12:00 pm | Updated Date: Dec 02, 2017 12:08 pm