Arsenal vs Manchester United: Who Has A Better Squad?
Manchester United and Arsenal were the two teams to miss out on a place in the top-4 last season. This meant that Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League but the Red Devils managed to step into the competition through the Europa League last season. But that has not stopped either team from trying to add some of the finest players in Europe to their squads.
Both teams have already made a couple of signings each and they are sure to compete for the biggest trophy in the country next season. So which club has a squad going forward? Let’s analyse.
First Team
With Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly at the back, United have a strong center back partnership to call on next season but Arsenal have an equally strong CB partnership with Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi in their ranks. Nacho Monreal might also be in the first team, if Wenger sticks to a 3-4-3 system next season. However, the Gunners have a more established full-back unit in their squad while United are still trying to find the right man for their flanks next season.
Arsenal have a plethora of talent in the midfield with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey expected to feature in the first team. Manchester United, on the other hand, are still in the transfer market to find the perfect partner for Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera in the middle of the park next season.
With Alexandre Lacazette in, Arsenal have made their attack solid but they could lose Alexis Sanchez, making them weaker. Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott will get some competition if Arsenal let Sanchez leave this summer. Manchester United have added Romelu Lukaku to their lineup and he, alongside Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford, forms a formidable attack.
Arsenal, on the other hand, if they hold on to Sanchez, could line up impressively. With Sanchez, Ozil and Lacazette being the front three, Arsenal would be a brilliant attacking unit on the pitch.
Squad Depth
The likes of Rob Holding and Gabriel Paulista are expected to be backups for the Arsenal first team while United have Phil Jones and Chris Smalling, making both teams strong in this department. United have the likes of Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo, all acting as backups to the first team options. One or more of those could be sold, but United are still pretty strong in this department.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have Hector Bellerin as a back-up to first choice wing-back Oxlade-Chamberlain. Kieran Gibbs is a backup option for the left wing-back position with Kolasinac being the preferred choice. Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini are the only midfield options for Manchester United next season but Arsenal have the likes of Coquelin, Mohamed Elneny and even Santi Cazorla in their ranks, making them stronger.
Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are the attacking reinforcements that United can call on from the bench and they will need genuine additions to make sure that they are able to compete on all four fronts. Arsenal, on the other hand, have Alex Iwobi, Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck all acting as backups in the attack.
The verdict
Quite clearly, Arsenal are stronger in almost all the areas of the pitch, excluding the goalkeeping department. If the Gunners play to their potential, it could well be that they will finish above Manchester United next season – quite easily.