Arsenal Vs Manchester United: PREVIEW! Højlund To Make Debut?
Manchester United travel to the Emirates stadium Sunday afternoon to take on 5th placed Arsenal at a 4:30 PM UK time kick off. Following the Red Devils 3-2 Comeback win against Forest, United should feel somewhat confident they can get something from this fixture as the Gunners meanwhile drew 2-2 with Fulham, after an awful mistake from Ramsdale which gave the visitors the lead in the first minute.
Injury News:
The injury woes for Man United continues to grow, as Raphael Varane picked up an Injury against Nottingham Forest which rules him out for this match. The current United players who will be unavailable for this fixture include Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Kobiee Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Tom Heaton. This is not an ideal situation for Erik ten Hag as he may have to adjust the tactical approach with key players being unavailable. However, new back up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, new on loan left back Sergio Reguilon and new striker Rasmus Højlund WILL be in the squad to face Arsenal.
As for Arsenal they are missing some players through Injury as well. New Signing Jurrien Timber picked up an ACL Injury that likely rules him out for the season, while Mohamed Elneny and Sambi Lokonga wont play this match. Other than these absentees Arsenal look to have a strong squad available.
Erik's Presser:
Erik ten Hag on Rasmus Højlund, "Yes, he's had a good training week, Tomorrow we will have a final training session but he's doing well, he's responding well. So, yeah, he'll be available for Sunday's game. I think he's ready to START."
Erik ten Hag on new back up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir: “Yeah, we followed him, scouted him very intensely and we think he has the skills to fit in Man United, to fit in English football,”
“So, we are really glad that we signed him and we are confident that he will make a lot of progress in the coming period in the coming years and he will be a huge contribution to our game.”
Erik ten Hag on Sergio Reguilon: "He's very experienced player, played for big clubs, already played a lot of La Liga and Premier League games, he has a very good background, he can play very intense football, we are happy. We had a problem with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia injured, we responded well in that emergency situation."
Erik ten Hag on Sofyan Amrabat: "Amrabat? I can't say anything. When we have news, we will communicate it immediately."
Predictions:
Traveling to the Emirates and beating Arsenal will not be an easy task especially considering the players currently missing for United. The midfield of Casemiro, Eriksen and Fernandes has worked against some teams but not others, and has yet to be tested against Arsenal. The Gunners, despite their league position, have just barely scraped past Nottingham Forest and drew a home fixture against a team they should be beating in Fulham. So in some ways both United and Arsenal have had somewhat shaky starts. If Mikel Arteta continues to experiment with his team, United may find some places to exploit. For example if Thomas Partey plays as a Right Back, Marcus Rashford may be able to take advantage of a player playing in an unnatural position. This sets up an interesting dynamic in the match that can go anyway. United also have the added wildcard of Rasmus Højlund potentially making his debut, and United players seem to have a habit of scoring on their debut when they play Arsenal…..
Predicted XI:
GK: André Onana
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
CB: Lisandro Martinez
CB: Victor Lindelöf
LB: Diogo Dalot
DM: Casemiro
CM: Christian Eriksen
CM: Bruno Fernandes
LW: Marcus Rashford
ST: Rasmus Højlund
RW: Antony
Score Prediction: Arsenal 1:2 Manchester United