Preview: Hojlund to make long awaited United debut against Arsenal? Bayindir on the bench?

Arsenal -v- Manchester United

Premier League

The Emirates Stadium, London

Sunday 3 September 2023, KO 16:30 BST

Manchester United face Arsenal at the Emirates in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. It will be United’s biggest test in the Premier League this season. United have not looked all that great so far – despite only three matches played so far. United nee improvement and fast.

Erik ten Hag needs to find a way for United to find the form they had last season and start to excel in the league this season. Winning the Carabao Cup was a good thing but United need to achieve more and getting rid of the parasitic Glazers is just one of the things that needs to be achieved.

United have learned their fate in the Carabao Cup this season, where they will face Crystal Palace and in the UEFA Champions League, they have been drawn in Group A where they will face Bayern Munich, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray. A tough group for United.

United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Forest 3-2 W, Spurs 2-0 L, Wolves 1-0 W, Athletic Club 1-1 D, Lens 3-1 W, Borussia Dortmund 3-2 L

Goals: 1 – Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Varane

Assists: 1 – Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Arsenal – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Fulham 2-2 D, Crystal Palace 1-0 W, Nottingham Forest 2-1 W, Manchester City 1-1 (4-1 pens) W, Monaco 1-1 (5-4 pens) W, Barcelona 5-3 W

Goals: 2 – Eddie Nketia, Bukayo Saka, 1 – Martin Ødegaard, Leandro Trossard

Assists: 1 – Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Fabio Vieira

Previous Meetings & Connections

United and Arsenal have met 62 times in the Premier League. United have won 26 times, drawing 18 times with Arsenal winning 18 times. United have scored 87 goals, winning eight penalties; scoring five. Arsenal have scored 70 goals; winning five penalties; scoring three.

United have kept 17 clean sheets with Arsenal keeping 19. United players have been shown 129 yellow cards and five red cards with Arsenal players shown 131 yellow cards and four red cards. Last season Arsenal beat United 3-2 in this fixture at the Emirates.

Paddy Sloan, David Herd, Ian Ure, George Graham, Jimmy Rimmer, Brian Kidd, Frank Stapleton, Viv Anderson, Jim Leighton, David Platt, Andy Cole, Mikael Silvestre, Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck, Henrikh Mkhitarayan and Alexis Sanchez have all played for both United and Arsenal.

Team News

Tom Heaton (calf), Raphael Varane (other), Luke Shaw (muscular), Tyrell Malacia (knee), Kobbie Mainoo (ankle), Amad Diallo (knee) and Mason Mount (groin/hip/pelvis) have all been ruled out through injury. Rasmus Hojlund (lower back) has a 50/50 chance ahead of this match.

With the number of injuries for United ahead of this match, Ten Hag may have to look to youth to add numbers on the bench. The fringe players like Alvaro Fernandez, Facundo Pellistri Scott McTominay and Shola Shoretire could all find chances this weekend?

Jurrien Timber (knee) and Mohamed Elneny (knee) have both been ruled out of the clash with United through injury. Eddie Nketiah (knee) has a 50/50 chance of being available for this match. Takehiro Tomiyasu has been suspended recently but will be eligible for the clash with United.

Predicted United Starting XI – 4-2-3-1

Onana;

Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Martinez, Dalot;

Casemiro, Eriksen;

Antony, Fernandes, Rashford;

Hojlund

Predicted Arsenal Starting XI – 4-3-3

Ramsdale;

Tomiyasu, White, Saliba, Kiwior;

Ødegaard, Rice, Havertz;

Saka, Jesus, Martinelli

Match Prediction

United need to find a big result against Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday. Arsenal sit in fifth place in the league after three matches with seven points and United sit in seventh place after three matches with six points. United desperately need s good result here.

United seem to be involved in transfer deadline day with new goalkeeper Altay Bayindir already being confirmed as a United player and Jonny Evans also in line to get a one-year contract at the Old Trafford club. Sofyan Amrabat is hotly linked to making a move to United.

Also, the Old Trafford club have moved for Tottenham Hotspur fullback Sergio Reguilon, who United were linked with only a few seasons ago as cover for the injured Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, who are out for the foreseeable future. This will be a big match for United against Arsenal.

Arsenal 2-3 Manchester United

Written by John Walker


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About editor 2296 Articles
I support Manchester United, the greatest English football team to have ever existed. Bruno Fernandes is the latest in a long line of players with great ability to play for the club. I idolised Bryan Robson, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Eric Cantona growing up.