One of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures in the Premier League calendar takes centre stage on Sunday afternoon when Arsenal host Manchester United at Emirates Stadium.
With the Gunners currently just three points behind leaders United, a victory for either side would represent a huge boost in their respective bids to produce strong title challenges.
Arsene Wenger will be enraged by the manner of their loss at home to Greek champions Olympiakos on Tuesday and will be demanding a response from his side, which, despite their struggles in Europe, are in impressive form in the Premier League. They come into this game on the back of a 5-2 thrashing of Leicester at the King Power Stadium in their last league fixture.
Arsenal will be relieved at the prospect of Alexis Sanchez having recovered his touch by virtue of his hat-trick against Claudio Ranieri’s side, and will be hoping for more of the same from him on
Sunday.
Whereas Manchester United will be running high on confidence following their hard earned victory against German side Wolfsburg on Wednesday, where they had to respond to going behind after just 4 minutes to collect all 3 points. Juan Mata’s law-defying vision of the game and the quick feet of Anthony Martial is bound to cause problems for Arsenal’s back-four.
Wenger was quick to come out in defence of his team selection, but his supporters were quiet this week as many questioned the decision to leave Cech out after the Gunners had waited so long to sign
a dependable, world-class goalkeeper.
The Arsenal boss always seems to face at least one difficult spell in the season, but patience appears to be wearing thin after the summer optimism from supporters who believed that this squad was capable of challenging in all competitions for the first time in many years.
Perhaps most surprising of all is the fact that United have managed to make such a promising start to their title pursuit with many onlookers claiming that they are not playing well, and although Van Gaal is unlikely to ever listen to the opinions of his critics, even he must believe that there is more to come from his squad. A settled squad with strength in depth is certainly the difference this season, and after just one loss in their opening seven league games, the challenge is for United to prove their title credentials as they prepare to meet Arsenal, Everton, Man City and Crystal Palace in October.
Sub-plot: Anthony Martial excelled during Monaco’s trip to Arsenal in the Champions League second round last season and the Frenchman will hope to replicate that form this Sunday. Of course, the 19-year-old has often been compared to Gunners legend Thierry Henry and even manager Wenger has admitted to scouting our latest no.9 but eventually baulked at the asking price. Will he regret that?
Danger man: Alexis Sanchez has been in great form in the last week, notching four goals in two games, including a hat-trick in the 5-2 victory at Leicester City. Olivier Giroud is just behind him on three goals and netted what turned out to be Arsenal's consolation against United at the Emirates last season.
View from the dressing room: "It is another tough test but this is what the Premier League is about and we go there full of confidence. We didn’t get the best result before the last international break against Swansea, so hopefully we can put that right and get the win we need." - Phil Jones.
Team News:
The Gunners were dealt a blow this week with the news that Laurent Koscielny will be out for three weeks with a hamstring injury, which means that Per Mertesacker is set to return to partner Gabriel in the centre of defence.
Arsenal are also without Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini due to injuries, but Francis Coquelin is expected to shake off a knock to start in the centre of midfield.
The key selection issue for Wenger will be whether he chooses to recall Olivier Giroud or keep faith with Theo Walcott, who has netted 12 goals in his last 13 league starts.
Michael Carrick has recovered from the minor injury which kept him out of the midweek win over Wolfsburg, and Van Gaal must choose between him and Bastian Schweinsteiger to partner Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield.
Ander Herrera and Marcos Rojo remain doubts for the visitors, while Antonio Valencia is set to retain his spot at right-back as Matteo Darmian prepares to once again play on the left side of defence in the absence of Luke Shaw.
Expected XI
Arsenal
Cech
Bellerin
Mertesacker
Gabriel
Monreal
Coquelin
Cazorla
Ramsey
Ozil
Sanchez
Giroud
Bellerin
Mertesacker
Gabriel
Monreal
Coquelin
Cazorla
Ramsey
Ozil
Sanchez
Giroud
Manchester united
De Gea
Valencia
Smalling
Blind
Darmian
Schneiderlin
Carrick
Mata
Rooney
Memphis
Martial
Valencia
Smalling
Blind
Darmian
Schneiderlin
Carrick
Mata
Rooney
Memphis
Martial
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