BANISH THE DEVIL
gunners look to down united
Happy Match Day, Arsenal Legion.
And what a HUGE match day it is!
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SETTING THE STAGE
Us vs them. Arsenal vs Yanited. Wenger vs Fergie, Vieira vs Keane, Keown vs Horse Face, Arteta vs Carrick!
Okay, the last one fell a bit flat, but you get the gist.
I fucking hate Man Utd. There, I said it. I bet the feeling is entirely mutual, and that's okay. Rivalries make football.
Today (as always) is all about us. Fuck them.​
Can we take another step toward the Holy Grail of Premiership glory in a difficult fixture, with the rest of the country hate-watching, hoping we fail?
By the time kick-off comes around, we will already know the results of both our rivals' games. City should bag an easy three points at home to Wolves, while Villa have a tough fixture in the North East vs Newcastle.
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MOMENTUM METER
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After our exploits in the San Siro, our last six games have yielded four wins and two draws.
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United's form is inconsistent with two wins, three draws and one defeat.
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Our form at The Carpet remains very strong, with us still undefeated, having won all but two of our eleven home games.
We have the second-best attack, one behind City and the best defence, three ahead of City again.
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United sit 9th in the away table with 3 wins, 5 draws and 3 defeats. They have a goal differential of minus one with 18 for and 19 against.
HISTORY BOOKS
In the reverse fixture, way back on the season opener, we gritted our way to a hard-fought Set-Piece FC 1-0 win with a goal from Calafiori. We were second best on the day.
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Our recent home record against them is excellent. They haven't beaten us at The Emirates in seven years; their last victory was a 3-1 win in 17/18, when Jesse Lingard bagged a double. Yes really. The dancing twat.
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Since then, we have won 6 out of the last 7, the other being a 0-0 draw in 20/21.
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They have knocked us out of the FA Cup on home soil twice in that time. Last year's exit on penalties is still the poster child for 'destined to never win a game'. That defeat still annoys me to this day.
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Last season's fixture saw us win 2-0, both goals hilariously from set pieces, with Timber then Saliba netting.
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FUN FACTS
1. Long before the "Battle of Old Trafford" in 2003, there was the 1990 Brawl. A 21-man scuffle broke out at Old Trafford after Nigel Winterburn "tacked" Denis Irwin into the advertising boards.
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The Result: The FA was so furious, they docked both teams' points (Arsenal 2, United 1).
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It is the only time in English history that a team has been docked points for player behaviour.
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The Flex: Despite being docked 2 points, Arsenal went on to win the 1990/91 League title, losing only one match all season.
2. ​Everyone remembers the 2003 Van Nistelrooy penalty miss, but Arsenal's first Premier League title under Wenger (1997/98) hinged on a lesser-known moment.
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Arsenal trailed United by 11 points at one stage in March. When they met at Old Trafford, Marc Overmars scored the winner, but it was Alex Manninger (the backup keeper) who became a cult hero by keeping a clean sheet. He filled in for an injured David Seaman for 6 games during that run, keeping 6 straight clean sheets—a record for an Arsenal deputy that hasn't been broken.
KEY MATCHUP
We all know everything good they do tends to come through the annyong rat face of Bruno Fernandes.
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His battle for time and space with Zubimendi patrolling that area will be key to our success.
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Zubi struggled at Old Trafford on opening day, but he is much more used to the Premier League's frenetic pace, and I hope and expect him to have another big game for us.​
THE PHYSIO ROOM
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ARSENAL
OUT - Dowman
DOUBTFUL - I have upgraded both Calafiori and Hincapie from Out to Doubtful as they were both spotted in training this week. My best guesstimate is they both make the bench.
It will be interesting if that happens, if MLS makes the match day squad at all. With Mosqueras return from injury, that's a lot of defenders sitting in reserve. Our injury list remains the same from midweek, with no return yet for Calafiori, Hincapie, or Dowman. No new fresh injuries to report, thankfully.
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The news was better on Kai the Guy. Twitterdom was abuzz with rumours that his knee was cooked, that he was getting shut down for the season amid concerns about his long-term future.
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Arteta addressed it in his pre-match presser, saying they were being ultra-cautious due to the length of time he'd been out and that he'd play minutes soon. I took that to mean Wigan in the FA Cup and Kairat in the Champions League.
MAN UTD
OUT - De Ligt, Zirkzee
DOUBTFUL - Mazraoui,
De Ligt is missing with a persistent back problem, while Zirkzee has a muscle issue.
Mazraoui is expected to return to the matchday squad after Afcon, having been given additional time off.
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PROJECTED ELEVEN
I expect all the big hitters to be on show. Our wall at the back, Gabriel will return, as will White at RB with Timber against switching to LB (I'm not a fan of him there). Rice will return to the #8 and Odegaard to the #10. The one major dilemma Mikel now has is who starts at centre forward?
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My money is on Gyokeres leading the line. The fact that he was rested in Milan tells me that Arteta had always planned to start him in the United game. Interestingly, a Twitter poll I ran showed that 54% of you wanted Gabi J to start. Make of that what you will.
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Even if, by some chance, Calafiori, Hincapie, or both are available, I don't see them being fit enough to be thrown straight back in.
FINAL THOUGHTS
For me, Arsenal vs Manchester United never needs extra motivation, but this one feels especially loaded.
It won’t be perfect and certainly won’t be stress-free — because it never is against them.
Will they be a rejuvenated, fully rested United under new (interim) management, or will the game be a case of them falling flat after the Lord Mayor's show, having put everything into the derby last week?
Statement game? Maybe. But honestly, what game from now until the end of the season isn't?
Important three points? Absofuckinglutely.
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And I can't wait.
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LETS FOGGIN' GO LEGION!!
