Manchester United host Arsenal at Old Trafford on Monday night, with both teams having a rocky start to the 2019-20 season. The Red Devils are in a tougher position, having lost to West Ham United last weekend, as well as struggling to get past Rochdale in the League Cup in mid-week, having to depend on penalties to progress to the next round.
The Gunners have shown attacking prowess, but their past issues in defence still exist, which will make this an entertaining affair between the two sides. The home side need the win more than the Gunners as they are already 10 points behind league leaders Liverpool, and could fall further behind in the race for the top 6 positions.
Let’s take a look at 3 things Manchester United should do to beat Arsenal
Man mark Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been in sensational form so far in the league, scoring 6 goals from 6 games, and is in third position in the top goalscorers chart of the 2019-20 season.
He will be one of the players to watch out for in the game and one that the Red Devils must keep an eye out for. Aubameyang is deadly in counter-attacking situations and is a neat finisher inside the box. Manchester United should try to man-mark Aubameyang out of the game as he is the Gunners’ in-form player in attack.
Victor Lindelof could be handed the task given his right-sided position in the defensive line but both he and Harry Maguire need to be at top of their game.
Not allow Matteo Guendouzi space
20-year-old Matteo Guendouzi has stepped up to the plate this season and has outshone seasoned midfielder Granit Xhaka in the Arsenal midfield, with his passing and control of the game.
Guendouzi’s passing can cause United some trouble as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have shown that they are not very strong in retaining the ball and dictating the tempo of the game, which was evident in the West Ham game.
Scott McTominay should not allow Guendouzi time and space to pick the ball up from his defence and make through balls for the likes of Aubameyang or Nicolas Pepe.
Always have two attackers pressing the Arsenal backline
Arsenal’s biggest weakness is their defence as new signing David Luiz has made several errors this season as has Sokratis. Solskjaer should tweak his tactics a little for this game and try to have two attacking players at all times, in and around the Arsenal backline.
If Anthony Martial is cleared fit to play, he should play the striker’s role and try to make direct runs through the Arsenal defence, while Daniel James should also be brought into central areas to put the Gunners defence under pressure.
