Rashford has a new ally in Weghorst upfront, who’ll also be keen on destroying Arsenal tomorrow. – AP
MANCHESTER United’s visit to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow has the potential to bring out the best in either side.
It comes at a time when they are both performing well above the levels they, or anyone else, could have imagined at the start of the campaign.
Arsenal sit atop the league with a healthy eight-point lead over champions Manchester City and tomorrow’s opponents.
Were it not for the wonder strike by Michael Olise with just minutes to go, which gave Crystal Palace a share of the points at Selhurst Park on Wednesday, Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils would be comfortably perched in second place and relishing the trip to London.
Instead, they will be ruing their missed opportunities and be significantly weakened by Casemiro’s absence.
The influential Brazilian midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card of the season and will serve a one-match suspension for those indiscretions.
Much will be made of Casemiro watching from the sidelines, but Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will hasten to point out to his squad that Man United will have 11 players on the pitch and that they have performed admirably since the arrival of ten Hag.
Indeed, ten Hag was chasing his 10th straight victory in all competitions before they were held by Palace.
Such had been Man United’s momentum that some of their weary-eyed supporters had begun talking about them actually winning the title.
Of course, we often hear people say that “anything can happen,” and certainly, Man United could go on and lift the title – but it is highly unlikely.
Even if they had the wily old Scotsman Alex Ferguson at the helm, it would be an extremely unlikely achievement.
This is so because not only do they have to get past the Gunners, who are in prime position to win their first Premiership crown since 2004, but they would also have to deal with their bitter hometown rivals City and Newcastle United, who are just a point behind on the table.
As alluded to previously in this column, Arsenal’s great asset so far this season has been their cohesiveness and their ability to play with stringent discipline – both in attack and defence.
They will need more of the same tomorrow because ten Hag, one feels, will approach this game with the same ploy he’s used when they beat Arsenal in September.
They will sit tight with a sturdy defence before unleashing their wingers down the flanks.
Marcus Rashford has been, and probably will be, the initial target, with support from Anthony.
But now they have a more formidable centre forward to look for, thanks to the loan signing of Wout Weghorst from Burnley last week.
The six-foot-six striker made his Man United debut against Palace and will be eager to get on the scoresheet at the Emirates. He might find it a little more difficult than he first thought.
Half of the reason the Gunners are at the top of the league is because they can defend as well as anybody. In fact, only Newcastle have conceded fewer goals in the league, and together with Man City, they have the best goal differential in the Premiership (plus 28).
Another telling factor in Arsenal’s outstanding first half of the season has been the source of their goals.
To date, 11 players have made their way onto the scoresheet – and that’s across seven different nationalities.
Notwithstanding this, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka will be the ones to watch – they top the club’s scoring charts with eight, seven and six goals, respectively.
Thomas Partey has the capacity to weigh in with a splendid strike of his own now and again.
The former Atlético Madrid midfielder could figure in this clash with one of those if he can create a bit of space for himself and take a fine shot from far.
Will he, though? This match could well turn out to be one of those cagey affairs, where neither side will be prepared to give up an inch for fear of losing it.
Or it could be explosive – loaded with goals (we hope).
