Two familiar foes are set to spar once again in the Premier League on Sunday as Arsenal play host to Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners haven’t enjoyed a fully convincing start to the 2023/24 season, although they have won two of their three games. They were held 2-2 by 10-man Fulham last weekend, leading to dropped points early in the new campaign.
Mikel Arteta would expect a much better performance from his boys against Man United, who were forced to come from 2-0 down early on to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford last time out.
Eddie Nketiah was a minor concern after the Fulham game, supposedly picking up a knee injury, but the hope is that it was nothing more than a knock. Arsenal don’t have any fresh injury concerns, with Jurrien Timber (knee) and Mohamed Elneny (knee) on the long-term injury list.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has served his one-game suspension and will be available for selection against Man United.
There have been late reports from Ghana regarding a possible injury to Thomas Partey. A source we are considering while publishing our predicted Arsenal lineup.
Goalkeeper
Aaron Ramsdale was at fault during Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Fulham, conceding after just one minute with Andreas Pereira’s effort catching him out of his goal following a poor back pass from Bukayo Saka.
Despite the Gunners signing David Raya from Brentford, Mikel Arteta is expected to persist with Ramsdale as the goalkeeper in the Arsenal lineup with the hope he redeems himself against Man United.
Defence
In defence, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Magalhaes are likely to return to the Arsenal lineup with Ben White shifting to the right-back position after operating in central defence against Fulham.
Gabriel will partner William Saliba at the heart of Arsenal’s defence, while Zinchenko is expected to replace Jakub Kiwior at left-back in the Arsenal lineup.
Midfield
Thomas Partey has started the new season in an unfamiliar inverted right-back position and performed well, but reports suggest he could be out injured for a considerable period of time which means Arteta is unlikely to be able to select his preferred midfield three yet again.
Declan Rice will sit as the deepest midfield option in that case while Martin Odegaard is likely to play as one of the eights.
Jorginho is a decent option as Partey’s cover but we feel Arteta might pick Kai Havertz instead to complete the midfield trio in the Arsenal lineup.
Jorginho will be joining the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Fabio Vieira and Leandro Trossard on the bench.
Attack
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have been mainstays in attack in the Arsenal lineup. They will be instrumental in creating opportunities from wide areas and give Man United defenders a torrid time with their pace, flair and unpredictability.
Eddie Nketiah came off the bench against Fulham last weekend and scored, thus, boosting his hopes of leading the Arsenal attack against Erik ten Hag’s men. He is expected to replace Trossard up top, with Gabriel Jesus also an option in attack.
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