Old Trafford will be painted red on Monday night when Arsenal and Manchester United lock horns in what is sure to be one of the bloodiest battles in the 2019/20 English Premier League season thus far.
Both teams have had disappointing starts to their league campaigns and will look to this fixture to get a good result in order to turn their respective seasons around.
After six matches Manchester United find themselves in lowly eighth place on the table, having only collected five points from a possible 15, which is simply not good enough given their lofty standards especially after their impressive 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the season.
This has left the Red Devils Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with his hands on his head and his job online, with a loss against Arsenal on Monday possibly signaling the end of his rein at the Manchester club.
It doesn’t get any easier for Solskjaer who is looking to bounce back after losing to West Ham United last weekend in the league and on penalties in midweek against League One side Rochdale in the Carabao Cup. And he has to do so with the headaches of player injuries and selection – Star forward Marcus Rashford is out injured and the manager will be hoping for the return of striker Anthony Martial and superstar midfielder Paul Pogba to boast his team after suffering a midweek loss to
Things do look a little brighter for Arsenal and their manager Unai Emery who have collected 11 points from a possible 18, but not by much.
Arsenal have won three matches in a row since their disappointing outing against Watford two weeks ago which saw them let a two-goal lead slip, keeping clean sheets in two of those matches, but Emery’s position is still under fire as the team struggles to adapt to his footballing style and tactics.
Moreover, Arsenal have been in terrible form away from home and this game against United at Old Trafford will be the ideal opportunity for the Gunners to turn around their fortunes.
And if the allure of either team turning their season around is not enough to play for then the rich history (and very fierce rivalry) between the two clubs will certainly spurn a nail-biting and jaw-crushing clash.
The rivalry, which was born out hatred for each other, was at its peak in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s as the two clubs dominated the battle for the league crown season after season, but both clubs have suffered a drought in league titles in the modern era.
The meeting of the Red Devils and the Gunners is one of the great fixtures in the history of the Premier League, and that remains the case even if neither team can currently be regarded as title contenders in the same way they were back in the days of respective managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Last season Arsenal took four points off United in the teams’ two league meetings, though the London side will be looking for their first league win at Old Trafford in more than 13 years: the Gunners’ last away win over United in the top flight was a 1-0 triumph in September 2006.
Whatever happens, you don’t want to miss this match so make sure to connect and pay your subscription service on time to see the match in all its glory.
Anthony Nlebem
