It is another weekend fueled with dynamites for sports fans, particularly football ones that follow the English Premier League closely, as two of the best teams in the history of English club football, Arsenal and Manchester United will lock horns and take on each other at the Emirates Stadium, the unbeaten home stadium of Arsenal’s this season in the Premier League. Arsenal, the currently league leader would look to reign supreme after their exceptional start to the league campaign when they face United at their home turf, while the Red Devils would fight to reignite their winning ways after having their nine-game winning streak in all competitions snapped by Crystal Palace with a 1-1 draw at Selhurst Park Stadium.
Arsenal’s Only League Loss This Season Came Against United
The Gunners had been in formidable form this season, winning 15 of their 18 Premier League fixtures and having the joint-best goal difference record at the moment. Furthermore, Mikel Arteta’s men are one of only two teams that have yet to taste more than one defeat in their Premier League campaign, with the other being the fourth place Newcastle United. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that Arsenal’s only defeat in the league this season was against their opponent this Sunday, Manchester United. During the last clash between both English football juggernauts September last year, Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils came out on top with a 3-1 victory over the Gunners, with debutant Antony scoring the first goal of the match, before United’s star talisman Marcus Rashford helping United to regain the lead and securing the win with two goals.
The win nipped Arsenal’s perfect winning start of the five opening league matches, but they became invincible and won 10 of their next 12 fixtures and had yet to lose a game at home. Besides, the team from North London won five of their last seven home Premier League games against the team from the Red Side of Manchester, and United had never completed a league-double over Arsenal since the 2017/2018 Premier League season.
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Casemiro to Miss the Clash
An important figure in United’s midfield is set to watch the game from the sidelines as he was booked late in the game against Crystal Palace last time out. The yellow card was his fifth in the season, suspending him from playing any parts of the heavyweight game against Arsenal.
When asked about the significance of not having one of his best players this season for the match, United’s manager Erik ten Hag is optimistic about coping with the shorthanded situation. His responded, “He’s a really important player for us and a reason we’re in this position. But last time we beat Arsenal without Casemiro. We need to do it again.” Having said that, United’s first-choice goalkeeper, 32-year-old David de Gea admitted that Casemiro’s absence from the game would be a big loss to United, which was enjoying a nine-game winning streak in all competitions prior to the draw against Crystal Palace.
Arsenal’s head coach Mikel Arteta, on the other hand, believed in his team’s quality, highlighting that, “The club are the first to try and improve the players we have. We have to have some discipline and be consistent in the targets we have. We can make the players better – let’s focus on that. We had some injuries, long-term injuries and it’s not helpful but we can focus on tomorrow. Train better, train better and review the game. We will try to improve the team.”
Arsenal are the favorites to win the Premier League 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Z17VLgIXNt
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 16, 2023
Head-to-Head Record Favours the Devils
Sunday meeting between Arsenal and Manchester United will be their 238th in all competitions, with the overall record between the two currently see United leading the win total with 101 victories as compared to the Gunners’ 86 triumphs. Mikel Arteta’s men would definitely love to see their North London rival Tottenham Hotspur making their closest chaser Manchester City to drop points when both teams face each other tonight, and that will give Arsenal motivation to avenge on Manchester United over the league defeat in September.
The kick-off at the Emirates Stadium between two of the most successful teams in English football, Arsenal (13 league titles) and Manchester United (20 league titles) is set for 4:30 P.M. GMT.
