Arsenal v United – A must win for the title run

Let’s not fool ourselves. We are playing against Man United, with a relatively new manager, with lots of new players with little or no chemistry and Harry Maguire. At home, any point dropped against the current Man United is a loss. Most importantly, we have strengthened our team spending 200m+ and winning these sorts of games are the difference between a Premier League winner and runner ups.

WIN. Anything less is unacceptable. It’s a home game with 60k people cheering their hearts out for 90 odd minutes and the players and manager need to give them back the same love.

Right, that’s on the emotional front.

Arteta was out there justifying Havertz’s performance in his first three games in Red and White, by referencing Ben White at RB experiment, Saka’s movement from LB to RW, Xhaka’s performance, Odegaard’s first two months and then some more. The only problem with this analogy is that, we were re-building a team at that time, and we lost a lot of games in that process. It’s 4year+ for him as Arsenal manager now, and if he expects the same judgement for a player bought for 65m, then he is deluded. Kai will be judged harshly. Mikel will be judged harshly. Every player and staff that’s seen on camera will be judged. Because, we finished second and we spent money to be better than that.

In the team news, Tomiyasu is back for selection after a red card. I’m sure now Partey is going to start at RB because Arteta is stubborn and I was wrong in guessing that he will switch back to the playing XI that worked pretty well for us last season. Kai is going to start again. Nketiah, after doing well for the game time he has got, will be replaced by Jesus because… why not.

The only things consistent in the current setup are Saka at RW, Martinelli at LW and Arteta’s stubbornness.

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It’s going to be a long season with lots of games, and we have let go Holding for pennies and Tierney on a loan. Timber is injured, leaving us short in the defence. Or, rather, Edu and Mikel thought it’s a good idea to let two defenders go after discovering that a player they brought in has sustained a season-long injury. If they cry for help later, they should be shut down by someone at the club. You can’t create problems at first and then ask for a fix.

I’m sorry, I was frustrated when I found out we let go Holding for a meagre 1m to Crystal Palace. It’s not like CP plays in the Championship. It’s not like Rob Holding is a bad defender who is here at Arsenal for 6 weeks. We are talking about a defender who has won things, at one of the biggest clubs in history and is still 27 years of age. 5 solid years ahead of him.

Anything less than a win against United is just going to further alleviate this frustration.

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We must win against a poor United, with no CF, Varane out with injuries, Onana still settling and Then Hag only aware of counter attacking football. We have a team in form, with no significant injuries and a much better bench in Trossard, Rice, fit ESR, Nketiah, fit Tomiyasu etc. There are no excuses, let’s beat them and show who the boss is.

If you still ask me, I would like us to settle back to White at RB and Gabriel + Saliba partnering at CB. Partey in the midfield, compliment with Rice or Kai. Nketiah should start ahead of Jesus.

We should also be careful about the f*ck ups we do once in a while. Champions are concentrated for the whole 90 min in their minds, even if their body doesn’t support.

I hope we end the weekend on a good note. A win will boost the player’s confidence and 10 out of 12 points is a good place to be in. This is going to be a hell of a season, and we need to make the most when we can. At some point, we will be visiting Anfield and Etihad, where ‘not losing’ would be a good result, so let’s make the most of tomorrow.

Right, that’s all me done. I’m in the clouds celebrating my 31st with little or no network, but will be back by tomorrow’s match.

Hope you are well, and having a good weekend.

Cheers.