Arsenal vs Manchester United- A clash which used to mean that the world would come to a standstill a decade or so back. Some of the best matches of the Premier League happened in this encounter especially when these two teams were the most dominant in the country. Sadly neither Arsenal nor Manchester United are the top teams in England right now, although for the fans of the two teams this clash has the same importance as before.
With Arsenal hosting the game and with Manchester United having so many injuries, the North London club are correctly pegged as the favourites going into the match. However, we at Soccersouls take a look at the three reasons why Manchester United could beat Arsenal.
Angel Di Maria Vs Calum Chambers:
You do not need to be a footballing genius to know who is going to win that one. After being taken to the cleaners against Swansea, Calum Chambers is up for another tough day at office as he comes up against the Argentine Angel Di Maria. The midfielder has the advantage be it taking the ball on the outside and crossing the balls for the likes of Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney or Falcao or just coming inside to take a shot himself. With Chamber’s lack of pace apparent, we have no doubt that Louis Van Gaal will look to target Arsenal on their right hand side of defence.
The tactical nuances of Louis Van Gaal:
There can be no doubting that Arsene Wenger is one of the greatest ever managers in the Premier League. However one distinct weakness of Arsene Wenger is that he believes in playing in just one way, i.e., in a fluid attacking manner no matter what the situation is. With Louis Van Gaal being the master tactician that he is if he can get his tactics spot on, there cannot be any reason why Manchester United cannot leave the Emirates Stadium with all three points which can very well kickstart the season for the Red Devils.
The mental block that Arsenal faces when the opponent is Manchester United:
Alright this is a recent phenomenon at best. However just like Arsene Wenger just cannot manage to beat Jose Mourinho, the same is the case against Manchester United in recent years. Although a lot of it was due to Manchester United being the superior side post 2007 under Sir Alex Ferguson, some of it does feel psychological. Especially last season when Arsenal succumbed to a 1-0 loss at Old Trafford and a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium against one of the poorest Manchester United teams in recent history. Question is can Manchester United take advantage of that?