40 min: It’s very scrappy now. Both teams could do with some tactical tweaks. Fortunately opportunity for a pow-wow is coming up soon.
38 min: United stroke it about, though they don’t really go anywhere. The game almost grinds to a complete halt.
36 min: McTominay is really struggling. Down he goes. He looks green. He’s really not enjoying himself. Down the tunnel he goes, hopefully to find some sweet relief. Martial comes on in his place.
34 min: A couple of half-chances for United, as Wan-Bissaka flashes a header wide right, then Bruno curls one wide right from a deep position on the left, using Luiz as a shield.
33 min: Not sure that pill has helped McTominay too much. He’s grimacing and not moving freely. Or maybe moving freely is the exact problem. Poor fellow.
32 min: Rashford tries a Le Tissieresque juggle and volley from 25 yards. It flies wide left by some distance.
30 min: Bruno crosses from the right. Luiz clears. Smith-Rowe swans past Fred and romps into space down the middle. He slips Pepe into space down the right. Pepe reaches the box, throws a couple of dummies, and attempts a curler into the bottom left. It’s inches wide. That would have been a fine goal.
29 min: Pogba, to the left of the D, chips a cute diagonal pass towards Rashford, preparing to volley home from the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Martinelli comes to Arsenal’s rescue, reading the danger and racing back in time to head out for a corner, just before Rashford can connect. Nothing comes of the set piece.
27 min: Martinelli storms in from the left and curls towards Lacazette at the far post. The inswinger takes Maguire out of the game, but there’s a little too much on it, and the ball evades the striker, just, flying out for a goal kick.
26 min: Pepe glides in from the right flank and swans past Shaw, who is forced to stick out an arm and drag him back. A free kick 25 yards out. Xhaka curls it to the far post, where Luiz loses Wan-Bissaka and heads across the face of goal. Nobody in red reacts. That was well-worked.
25 min: Bellerin has a whack from distance. His shot is deflected out for a corner on the right. Pepe takes, and Xhaka aims a header towards the top right. It’s easy for De Gea.
23 min: Cavani drives down the right and forces Holding to toe-poke out for a corner. Before it can be taken, McTominay trots to the touchline, clutching his stomach. He’s given a pill to settle things down. The corner comes to nothing.
21 min: A little bit of space for Pepe down the right. He enters the box and has options in the middle, but whistles a wild drive into the side netting.
20 min: Shaw’s corner is half cleared. The ball drops to Fred, who attempts to gently shovel a shot into the top right. It’s heading in, but Leno extends a finger to tip away sensationally. Arsenal deal with the second corner much more easily.
19 min: Wan-Bissaka curls in from the right. Luiz hysterically slices out for the first corner of the game.
18 min: Rashford and Bruno attack down the United right. They’re two on one with Luiz. Rashford enters the box and attempts a one-two with Bruno, to his right. The move breaks down. Cavani, in acres at the far post, seethes with some justification.
16 min: Lacazette strides towards the United box and sends a rising rasper towards goal. It’s hit with venom but straight at De Gea and an easy claim.
15 min: Bruno plants his studs on Xhaka’s heel. Was that a deliberate rake? You’ve seen players penalised for less, but both referee and VAR give him the benefit of the doubt. He’ll need to calm down, something he’s signally failed to do since the incident with Cedric.
13 min: Arsenal and United love a good bench-emptying brawl, and one nearly kicks off here. Cedric sticks an arm in Bruno’s face as the pair contest a high ball. It’s a foul and a booking for the Arsenal man. Bruno explodes in rage, with Cedric up in his grille. He considers throwing hands before deciding against it. Other players rush in, but only to calm things down.
11 min: Luiz strides forward and suffers a huge rush of blood. Attempting a shot from the best part of 35 yards, he nearly manages to hit the corner flag on the right. As ever, full marks for ambition for the ever-entertaining Luiz, if not for execution.
10 min: United press high and hard. Arsenal, with Partey, Cedric and Xhaka in the thick of it, escape well by executing a couple of crisp triangles. A good contest already, this.
8 min: Now Bruno wants a penalty, as he’s nudged by Cedric, the pair contesting Shaw’s deep cross from the left. There’s not much in it, and he’s not getting one.
7 min: Xhaka hangs out an arm, giving Rashford a slap in the face as the pair tussle down the United right. Accidental, according to the referee. We play on.
6 min: Smith-Rowe and Pepe combine really well down the right. The ball’s slipped inside for Lacazette, who twists and turns but can’t work space for a shot. A couple of promising signs for Arsenal down the flanks.
5 min: Arsenal launch their first attack of the evening, Martinelli slipping a pass down the left for Cedric, whose deep cross skims off the top of Lacazette’s head.
3 min: United continue to stroke it around. Arsenal don’t seem minded to pile forward and leave a load of space for the visitors to romp into.
1 min: United are out of the blocks quickly, Shaw racing down the left and reaching the byline after 30 seconds or so. But there’s nobody in the middle yet, so he’s forced to turn tail and the move fizzles out. A very early statement of intent by United, though.
Arsenal get the first half underway ... but only after everyone takes a knee of solidarity, respect, equality and love. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.
The teams are out! Arsenal wear their famous red shirts with white sleeves, while Manchester United sport third-choice black. A world of fun is only a couple of heartbeats away. “I have a partly repressed joy watching Ole resurrect United,” writes Bill Hargreaves. “He has an expression like the lost dog in the park that only wants a good home, only to turn into your best buddy and a stalwart advisor.”
Mikel Arteta welcomes Martin Odegaard. “He is starting on the bench. He’s only done one and a half sessions with us, so he’s not familiar with the way we do it. But we brought him in because we know he can make a difference for us.”
Meanwhile Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has also been talking to Sky: “We have loads of games in a short space of time. [The changes are] not a reaction [to defeat]. There should be fresh legs there today. It’s Arsenal, that should be motivation enough. We haven’t done well here lately but traditionally we have had some good results here. When you lose you want to play again, it’s just the way it is.”
Arsenal will move into seventh if they win tonight. United will remain in second, whatever happens: Manchester City have just seen out a 1-0 victory against Sheffield United, Gabriel Jesus making the difference in the ninth minute, and extend their lead over United at the top to four points.
Arsenal make one change to the team that won at Southampton during the week. Gabriel Martinelli comes in for Bukayo Saka, left out altogether as a precautionary measure with a sore hip. Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are both still out, but new loan signing Martin Odegaard might get on a bit later: he’s on the bench.
Manchester United replace nearly half of their starting XI after losing so dismally at home to Sheffield United. Anthony Martial, Axel Tuanzebe, Alex Telles, Nemanja Matic and Mason Greenwood make way for Edinson Cavani, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Fred.
Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Cedric, Partey, Xhaka, Martinelli, Smith-Rowe, Pepe, Lacazette.
Subs: Gabriel, Odegaard, Willian, Runarsson, Maitland-Niles, Chambers, Elneny, Willock, Nketiah.
Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Fred, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Pogba, Cavani.
Subs: Bailly, Martial, Greenwood, James, Henderson, Alex Telles, Matic, van de Beek, Tuanzebe.
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).
Manchester United haven’t beaten Arsenal in the league since April 2018, when Marouane Fellaini scored a last-minute winner at Old Trafford. They’ve lost 2-0 on their last two visits to the Emirates, and lost this season’s corresponding home fixture 1-0 back in November. Arsenal have picked up 16 points from the last 18 on offer, while United went down flaccidly against bottom side Sheffield United the other day. Form slightly favours the Gunners, then, but when was form a factor in an epic rivalry that has delivered brilliance, bench-emptying brawls, and everything in between? Let the duel commence, this could be a whole lot of fun.
Kick off is at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on!
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3j1xPyG
via IFTTT
No Comment