Marquee Match: Arsenal vs. Manchester United | OneFootball

A rejuvenated Manchester United travel to the Emirates this Sunday to face Arsenal, with the Gunners looking to rediscover their winning form. 

Home Side’s Form

Mikel Arteta’s side have been goal-shy in recent weeks in the Premier League with two consecutive goalless draws, at home to Liverpool and then away at Nottingham Forest. However they still found themselves seven points clear at the summit of the table going into this weekend, with the chasing pack continuing to falter. 

Arsenal did look far more threatening in midweek, recording a mightily impressive 3–1 victory away at Inter Milan. The result maintained their 100% Champions League record this season and confirmed top spot in the league phase of the competition.

Victor Gyökeres and Gabriel Jesus, who have both struggled for goals at times this season, both found the net at the San Siro. This is form Arsenal will need to continue with Kai Havertz still regaining fitness.

In his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta welcomed the return of his trio of striking options. He said: “We were waiting for that with the amount of games that are coming up. They are all going to have opportunities and minutes, so great to have them back and especially to have them in good form.”

Visiting Side’s Form

In the away camp, interim manager Michael Carrick could not have dreamt of a better start to life back at Old Trafford. His side delivered an emphatic 2-0 win over Manchester City, a result also warmly welcomed by this week’s opponents in north London.

Despite a perfect start, the temporary replacement for Ruben Amorim, remains coy about his longer-term future at the club. In his pre-match press conference, he said: “I have not looked too far down the track. Every decision I make is not short-term. I have a responsibility to leave the club in a good place. As time goes on, I am sure I will be part of it.”

The much-maligned Kobbie Mainoo’s reintroduction to the Manchester United starting XI made headlines, with reports suggesting the club are now set to hold talks over a new contract for the 20-year-old midfielder.

Carrick was full of praise for the Englishman and added: “I really enjoyed working with Kobbie. This club needs young players coming through and laying the foundation. 

“It is something we need to grasp and build on. To come through so quickly shows an awful lot of quality in terms of his character. A career has ups and downs but we saw last week what he can bring. He was enjoying himself.”

Somber News

This comes after it was announced that Brazilian midfielder Casemiro will depart Old Trafford at the end of the season, bringing an end to his four-year stay in Manchester following his move from Real Madrid.

Carrick revealed: “The Casemiro announcement was for clarity as much as anything, it was decided before I arrived, it wasn’t a knee-jerk decision.

“But the type of personality and character he is, it shows with his performance last week, where he is mentally and what it means to be here and finish the season strong. I’ve had the conversation with him, he’s desperate to do well and finish well.”

Their Earlier Tie

Manchester United, then led by Amorim, welcomed Arsenal to Old Trafford over the opening weekend of the season back in August. The Gunners were far from convincing but ran out 1-0 victors with the winning goal, unsurprisingly, coming from a corner kick, scored by defender Ricardo Callafiori. 

A pivotal part in Arsenal’s defence, the Italian has helped the Gunners comfortably maintain the league’s best defensive record this season. However, the Gunners will be hoping the 23-year-old recovers in time from a muscle injury that has kept him sidelined since just before Christmas. 

His comeback is made all the more important with fellow left-back Piero Hincapie also a doubt with a groin injury. The pair were both spotted in Arsenal training on Friday however, but Arteta didn’t give away any clues on their fitness and said: “We still have another training session, so we’ll see. After that, we’ll assess everybody and make the decision.” 

Should the pair make the game, it would mean that the Gunners would have a fully fit squad, bar Max Dowman. 

Manchester Looking Healthy

Manchester United aren’t without defensive injury concerns of their own, with Matthijs De Ligt expected to miss out this weekend through a back injury.

However, Noussair Mazraoui could return for the visitors. The full-back hasn’t featured for the Red Devils in recent weeks, having been in AFCON action with Morocco, where he started in their dramatic 1–0 final defeat to Senegal.

Carrick’s side face a daunting task away at the league leaders, who remain unbeaten at the Emirates Stadium this season. United haven’t beaten Arsenal in the league since August 2022, and their last league victory at the Emirates came all the way back in December 2017, when Jesse Lingard’s brace and an inspired David De Gea secured a 3–1 win.

However, United’s last visit to the Emirates might provide some optimism, after they saw off Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup third round last January, despite Diogo Dalot being sent off for the visitors. 

As one of the Premier League’s greatest rivalries rekindles this Sunday, the Gunners will be hoping to move three points closer to claiming their long-elusive first Premier League title in over twenty years.