Charles Jackson
Perhaps the game of the Premier League era is on the horizon and, for once, the pre-match conversation will not be dominated by talk of fallen giants, plural. Just singular. Although Manchester United are a shadow of the team that faced Arsenal in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the visitors arrive at Old Trafford on Sunday believing they can follow in the footsteps of their legendary predecessors and win the title.
They will need help from one of Manchester City’s next two opponents if they are to be champions, but in terms of what Arsenal can control the situation is clear. They have to win to make sure the title race goes all the way to the final day where they have to win again. Old Trafford, however, is not a happy hunting ground for the Gunners. Just one of the last 16 trips to a Premier League ground has ended in victory, a 1-0 lockdown win when the ground was empty. If they can calm Old Trafford once again, however, they could at least push the Premier League title race to the limit:
Viewing information
- Date: Sunday, May 12th | Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- Location: Old Trafford – Manchester, United Kingdom
- Live broadcast: Peacock
- Chances: Manchester United +600; Draw +450; Arsenal-275
Team News
Manchester United: The return to contention of Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford is just qualified good news for United when there are so many absences in defense. Lisandro Martinez had hoped to recover in time to play against Arsenal, but Erik ten Hag said no, although he will also be without central defenders Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans and Willy Kambwala, raising the prospect of Casemiro once again taking center stage. back. Luke Shaw also suffered a setback in his recovery from a muscle problem.
“I would never bet on a player,” said Ten Hag, who will also have to consider his team’s fitness for the FA Cup final in just over two weeks’ time. “Never. It’s about them, about their future. That’s the most important thing. About their careers. I have to take responsibility for that and of course the club is the most important thing. But the safety of the player, the health of the player, is also always of a high level [of importance].”
Manchester United’s possible XI: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Evans, Casemiro, Dalot; McTominay, Mainoo; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Arsenal: Arteta played his cards close to his chest after a week in which Bukayo Saka was seen in braces during training and Takehiro Tomiyasu was nowhere to be seen. “We have some doubts that we can resolve tomorrow because we have another training session, so we will have to wait and see. [Tomiyasu and Saka].”
Both, however, are seen as more likely to feature than not, meaning Arteta would once again have a fully fit squad to choose from. It seems unlikely that he will feel obliged to make specific adjustments to combat United.
Possible Arsenal XI: Raya; Branco, Saliba, Gabriel, Tomiyasu; Partey, Odegaard, Rice; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Prediction
Previous problems at Old Trafford may weigh heavily on Arsenal, but they really should have the quality to get the job done. CHOICE: Manchester United 0, Arsenal 2
