It has been said for a while now that Manchester United are basically in the same predicament as Arsenal (just a few years behind), having lost a talismanic manager and attempting to return to the glory days of old. Nothing shows this better than United’s poor start to the season, losing their first two games in spectacular fashion, similar to Arsenal’s terrible start just a year earlier. Unfortunately, similar to Arsenal last season, United have bounced back and have since won their last three games, catapulting them from the relegation zone all the way to 8th place.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have had a much better start to this campaign. We’ve had a perfect start to the season and will look to continue that streak as we head to Old Trafford. Opposing fans might point to the fact that we’ve had an easier schedule than others, but Liverpool dropped points to Palace and Fulham and Villa just took points off of City. Those teams might not be challenging for top honors anytime soon, but you have to beat the team in front of you, and we’ve done just that.

Expected Arsenal Starting XI

On top of those that we have already lost to injury, the big worry that came out of Wednesday’s win against Villa was potential injuries to Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale, and Ben White. The latest training footage from Arsenal’s YouTube channel did show Odegaard and Ramsdale back training with the first team, but I couldn’t spot White in any of the footage. It may be nothing, but it is possible that Ben White could miss this game due to injury.

Luckily, we have probably our most qualified backup in the team for that position in Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was our established starter in the right-back position last season, but has had a slower start to this season having just recently recovered from a minor injury.

Other than that, I expect we will field the same team that started against Villa on Wednesday.

What to Expect from United

If I’m being honest, I think United’s last three results have flattered them a bit. They got a decent result against a similarly-struggling Liverpool side, but were only able to eke out 1-0 victories against two comparatively weaker sides in Southampton and Leicester. United’s numbers do seem to tell a bit of a story. They allowed Liverpool to have the ball for 70% of the game while they basically split possession with Southampton and conceded about 55% possession to Leicester, the team currently at the bottom of the table with just one point.

It seems like United are looking to sit back and soak up pressure until they can get the ball long and try to break on the counterattack. Their defense has been bolstered by the addition of Lisandro Martinez, who is partnered by former Real Madrid defender Raphael Verane. United’s attack is fairly pacy and dangerous, even with one of the best players of a generation on the bench. It will also be interesting to see if their newest signing from Madrid, Casemiro, will make his first start in this game. If so, he could pose a decent challenge for our attacking midfielders, who have been playing quite well so far this season.

Key Questions

Can Sambi Hang with the Big Boys?

Sambi deputized well in the defensive midfield role on Wednesday. He had some great cross-field passes and was tidy enough on the ball. However, that was against a relatively weak Aston Villa side. Going to Old Trafford will be a whole different beast. He did have his fair share of chances last season; some great, some not so much. We look to be better equipped this season to assist Sambi if and when he does make a mistake, but let’s hope he can hold his own in one of our biggest tests this season.

Will Arsenal Adjust their Game Plan?

The amount of tactical adjustments that a team makes in preparation for a game depends on the manager, but also may depend on the relative strength of the opposing team. Some teams may make wholesale changes to their setup in order to counter the play-style of their opponent. Others may make only the smallest of tweaks, while keeping the core of their tactics completely unchanged. Generally, the stronger a team is, the less they need to adjust to the opposition.

Arsenal have proven this season that they are a strong team with a well-defined system of play. However, United may be the first big challenge that they come up against. That, on top of multiple injuries to key players, could shake the faith in our ability to impose our game on the other team. So the big question is, will Arteta stick to his guns or will he tweak the system to counter United’s obvious threat? I am inclined to think the former will be true.

How do the Away Fans React?

The last week or so has really challenged the faith the Arsenal fanbase has in the team. A couple of close scorelines, multiple injuries in key areas of the pitch, and a transfer window ending with no further signings, seems to have slightly brought down the high spirits that we’ve had from being top of the table.

Prior to each of our first five matches, I haven’t seen even the most pessimistic of Arsenal fans predicting anything but outright wins. Now, I’m seeing a bunch of fans and content creators saying that they would be happy with a draw. Some are even predicting a loss.

This season more than ever, the fan’s connection with the team has been stronger than ever, and the team seems to feed off of the energy that the home and away crowds project. I just hope that our away fans can bring that same level of energy to this game and that they won’t let the injuries and transfer window disappointment dampen their mood.

Final Predictions

Arsenal have never had great luck going to Old Trafford. Even weak United sides have somehow managed to stop us in our tracks when we visit. However, I have a lot of faith in this Arsenal side this season and think we’ll pull out a tightly-contested 2-1 win with goals from Jesus and Saka.