Rejuvenated Manchester United out to halt Arsenal’s Premier League title charge
The Gunners have won five and drawn once in their last six league meetings with Michael Carrick’s Red Devils
[LONDON] Arsenal versus Manchester United is a fixture that has lost its lustre since the days when they were scrapping for English Premier League (EPL) titles with such ferocity that clashes between the two clubs inevitably reached boiling point.
They shared the EPL trophy between them for nine seasons between 1996 and 2004, with Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils taking six and Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal prevailing on three occasions.
United have been a fading force since Ferguson’s reign ended with the 2012-13 championship, while Arsenal have not been champions of England since their undefeated “Invincibles” ruled the roost in 2003-04.
After three successive runners-up finishes, Arsenal are the red-hot favourites to end that long wait this season and Mikel Arteta’s players have opened a seven-point lead at the top over stuttering Manchester City and Aston Villa.
The Gunners host United this weekend (Monday 12.30 am kickoff, Singapore time) and while their visitors are, once again, not in the title equation, the match has suddenly gone from being what most assumed would be a comfortable home win to a fixture that could rekindle memories of old.
Swashbuckling football
The sacking of manager Ruben Amorim this month ended another chapter of woe for United, but the appointment of the club’s former midfielder Michael Carrick on an interim basis until the end of the season sparked an astonishing reaction last weekend.
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United’s 2-0 defeat of their rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford seemed to banish the gloom at a stroke, with Carrick’s side ripping Pep Guardiola’s title contenders to shreds with the kind of swashbuckling football that has been beyond them for so long.
Arsenal have won five and drawn once in their last six EPL meetings with United, although they did lose a penalty shootout at home this time last year in the third round of the FA Cup.
While Arsenal have a comfortable cushion at the top, they have drawn their last two league fixtures and will be wary of a United side who will be eager to prove that last weekend’s heroics were no flash in the pan.
“For Michael, his game plan is simple, exactly the same way as they have just played against Manchester City,” said United’s all-time record goalscorer Wayne Rooney earlier this week.
Although trailing Arsenal by 15 points, United are in fifth position in the table, just a point behind fourth-placed champions Liverpool, and with genuine hopes of qualifying for the Champions League after the ignominy of being absent from European competition altogether this season.
Playing catch-up again
City reeled in Arsenal in the build-up to Christmas, but a dreadful run of form has left them playing catch-up again.
Three successive EPL draws before the defeat at Old Trafford and Tuesday’s Champions League humiliation by Norway’s Bodo Glimt has threatened to derail their season.
A home fixture against the league’s bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday should allow them to reset, although with the visitors showing signs of life, nothing will be taken for granted.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa also need a quick bounce back after a draw at Crystal Palace, followed by their first home defeat of the season against Everton last week. The Villains face a tricky trip to Newcastle United on Sunday.
Bid to escape relegation
This weekend’s action begins at the London Stadium on Saturday with relegation battlers West Ham United hosting Sunderland, hoping to use last week’s morale-boosting win at Tottenham Hotspur to kick-start their bid to escape relegation.
The Hammers are in 18th spot, five points behind Nottingham Forest, who go to seventh-placed Brentford on Sunday.
Liverpool play at Bournemouth on Saturday evening knowing they are in a scrap to make next season’s Champions League, even if once again England’s top five are likely to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition.
After four successive draws, Arne Slot’s Liverpool are only just ahead of United and two points better off than Chelsea, who go to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Slot has welcomed back Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah after his return from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Tottenham manager Thomas Frank, who has struggled to produce results this season, bought himself some time as they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Dane will be back in the firing line when he takes his team to second-from-bottom Burnley on Saturday. Lose that match and the vultures will surely be circling again. REUTERS
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