When: Wednesday, December 5 at 3:00pm EST Where: Old Trafford TV: NBCSN I think Thanks for all the kind words. Mother and child are doing well. We are finding a new normal which is much lacking in sleep. On to the real business. Time to finally give these wankers the pounding they’ve been deserving for a few seasons now. We’ve got some good momentum, so hopefully the lads can take full points and solidify us as top 4 contenders.
I am more confident going to Old Tramshed now than any time in years. That better not be the kiss of death. Let's put a 10 point gap on those bastards. p.s. Thanks for the quick thread! Many of us have lived through what you're dealing with. Some more recently than others. But you'll never forget these days.
United probably is about the same talent level as Spurs. But where Spurs seem to be well-organized and well-motivated, United are neither. I'm expecting a victory here, and a fairly comprehensive one at that. And given where we've been recently, that's a decent-sized win in its own right.
I don't know if that's true. I had Spurs more than the next, but they have a much better squad than United. There's just not a single player in Mo's 11 that I rate. With that being said, United seems to always pull some black magic ********ery on us that leads to a loss or draw. So that's what I expect.
I think it really comes down to Pogba's attitude and what happens between him and Mou until kick-off. Based on reports and the growing dissent between those two - laying aside differences for the better of the team looks highly unlikely. United really is built around Pogba. Without him (playing close to his best) in midfield, they really don't have any other good options. Even with a strong and motivated Pogba, I expect our midfielders to control the match. What concerns me more than anything if the refereeing. The refs usually allow ManUre to hack at us with impunity in these fixtures. If that happens (yet again), then a draw is as optimistic as I expect. United are an utter mess from Woodward ----> Mou----> Mou's Management of the players ----> quality of players Mou has available to manage. On paper and on current form, this looks to be a one-side affair in our favor. However, I will never write this fixture off. I will be grateful for a draw. Excited for a win.
Paul Pogba is really, really, really good. Rashford and Martial are really good wide attackers. Bailly is better than any of our CBs. And of course, DDG is a Sith Lord.
It's about a wash for me. They have Lukaku, Alexis, Martial, Pogba and DeGea who ought to be world class now, or at least close to it (they aren't obviously, except DDG). But the real advantage for United over Spurs is that United's checkbook football has created a collection of second-tier talent to give them a layer of depth that Spurs don't have: Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Matic, Fred, Valencia, Young, Rashford. The problem with Spurs is that they're too top-heavy. After Kane, Alderweireld, Alli, Eriksen, Son, maybe a couple of others, they might as well be Everton or Bournemouth. In any event, with that level of talent, United ought to be much better than they are. I'm thrilled that we're playing them before Jose gets sacked, and I'll be substantially disappointed with anything other than a win.
Training pics and team news from today: https://www.arsenal.com/news/boys-train-ahead-manchester-united https://www.arsenal.com/news/team-news Xhaka suspended, so there'll be an interesting decision on who fills that spot Nacho listed as "being assessed" plus, based on the photos, I'm guessing he won't play tomorrow Ozil* also "being assessed", but not in a single photo, so don't get your hopes up there Mustafi shows up actively in photos, so I guess the injury that brought him off 2 days ago was minor Sokratis hard to find in photos, so hopefully he's still 100% fit Koscielny nowhere to be seen... a little surprising *Edit: I've since listened to Emery's presser and when asked about Ozil, his words and his body language don't bode well. Just like his presser pre-Tottenham. And deja vu from some of Wenger's pressers in recent years. So it seems there's a rift between coach and player and/or an issue with Mesut's "psychology" as has been discussed in the past.
There has been tons of media speculation in the last 2-3 weeks that Ozil could/will be sold in Jan. May not be the worst thing in the world assuming we could get a decent return.
Would seem to be hard to sell a guy who can't get into our XI much. Unless maybe we're willing to sell him at a big discount. I'm not holding my breath.
An interesting sideshow for this game is the drama surrounding when and if Mourinho gets sacked. I'm glad he hasn't been yet, I think we're much better off playing them with Mourinho in charge instead of somebody else. My guess is, there's at least a 10% chance he gets sacked on any loss to us, and maybe 50-60% if it's a bad one.
My heart says Arsenal 4-0 Man Utd. My head says 1-1; Jose will do everything in his power to not lose to Arsenal.
Hate to say it but all the more reason a draw wouldn't be a bad result for them; they get to batter Mou in the reverse fixture.
This. Also, their players will actually be up for this one unlike the mid/bottom table fodder they’ve been dropping points to. They are a big team, would be shocked if mou goes full fat Sam against us—Magic, fellaini, lukaku, etc. torriera winning a header against fellaini would be an instant meme. No xhaka likely means guendouzi to start I think. But who knows what Emery will cook up—I love it.
I've got a bad feeling about this. Mostly Old Trafford and Andre Marriner PTSD, but a bad feeling nonetheless.
Yeah but that's your thing isn't it? Bad feelings just before a match? Why not go with this mentality from someone who clearly knows better than us Gooners ... COYG!!!!!
This fixture almost never goes well for us in EPL. I am worried that we will see some fatigue from NLD and Pogba will be up for it today. Can Ramsey play another game? We will get sliced up with Guendouzi. This honestly will be a real test...much harder than Spuds. Nervous but hopeful...
Looks like he's going with a very similar line-up, with back 3, Guendouzi & Ramsey in... Arsenal 19Leno 5Papastathopoulos 20Mustafi 16Holding 2Bellerín 11Torreira 29Guendouzi 31Kolasinac 8Ramsey 17Iwobi 14Aubameyang Substitutes 1Cech 4Elneny 7Mkhitaryan 9Lacazette 12Lichtsteiner 15Maitland-Niles 49Nketiah
Guendouzi probably is the best player we have at pressing and closing space in the midfield, but he still is good for at least one bone-head play per game. Love the guy, but this game may be too much for him.