Manchester United will be looking to bounce back as they visit Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium to regather from a shock loss in midweek to Sheffield United.
The Gunners continue to gather momentum from a slow start to the season as they come off an impressive win over Southampton to boost them to 8th in the table.
Manchester United Looking to Bounce Back From Shock Defeat
Arsenal
Arsenal bounced back from their FA Cup loss to Southampton by beating them in the Premier League on Monday night.
Mikel Arteta chose to play a weakened team in the cup despite being the defending champions. Arsenal has a history of winning cups but now their only focus is on the Premier League and the Europa League. The Gunners have done well recently in beating teams who they are supposed to beat and overturned a slow start.
At the time the win over Chelsea in December looked impressive but Chelsea has drastically fallen since then. It eventually led to the sacking of Frank Lampard. To Arsenal’s credit, it might have been a momentum shift for them. This is why this game is such a big game for them it will answer a lot of questions. Are they just beating below-average teams or have they really turned the corner?
Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard to add some creativity in midfield since the departure of Mesut Ozil. Odegaard is a midfielder who has previously played for Real Madrid and plays for Norway in international football. He just never fit with Real Madrid and he’s been on loan with multiple teams.
In the previous meeting, Arsenal won 1-0 after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the only goal of the game when he converted a penalty past David De Gea to start the up-turn in form. He will need to come up big again for them to have a shot in this game.
Alexandre Lacazette is the team’s leading goal scorer with eight goals and is a key to the game as well. Arsenal has won three times in their last five meetings.
Manchester United
Manchester United should come into this game with confidence because they can win in many ways. Conceding early goals does not phase them and that has been depicted all season and most recently against Liverpool. They can also win big as they did emphatically against Leeds United. Another reason is payback from earlier this season and finally beating Arsenal in the league. The Red Devils are undoubtedly in better shape and form than they were in previous league games against Arsenal. The form of the likes of Paul Pogba has recently turned back into form and looks fully committed to the team.
Prediction
Anytime Manchester United plays Arsenal on the road the game is always dramatic. I’ll give them a 2-1 win because they just came off a shocking loss to Sheffield United and it will help force them to bounce back.
The Red Devils look invincible on the road as they are unbeaten in 16 games. A new record was created when they beat Fulham to beat their 1999 record.
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