THIS is the second best start for Manchester United in a Premier League season since 2018.
Six points from nine is a decent return, while a couple of victories at Old Trafford extends a tremendous run that last saw them vanquished at home a week shy of a year ago.
So why does it feel like there are serious problems for Erik Ten Hag to address ahead of an immensely challenging trip to the Emirates? Why does it feel like they have overslept when 2023/24 came calling, fumbling around in a blind panic, stepping on upturned plugs as they frantically try to pat down their bedhead?
An unsuccessfully remodeled midfield lies at the heart of their early struggles, one that has contributed to United facing 49 shots across three games. The space afforded to opponents in the defensive third has staggered at times.
With Mason Mount injured for the foreseeable future, Christian Eriksen is charged with tracking the clever movement of Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard this Sunday but the Dane will need an awful lot of assistance from his partner Casemiro, whose form presently concerns.
Over 5.5 shots on target for the Gunners is a shout at 19/20
Up front, meanwhile, Antony, Garnacho, Martial, and Jadon Sancho have all hugely disappointed, looking toothless and clean out of ideas. A notable lack of intensity should serve as a red flag for the Reds and damningly Ten Hag accused his attacking roster of ‘not doing their jobs’ in a miserable second-half showing at Spurs.
As for the over-sleeping analogy, nowhere was this better epitomized than at the weekend, finding themselves two down just four minutes in when hosting Nottingham Forest.
All of which suggests an arduous, unrewarding afternoon lies ahead in North London and that may well prove to be the case, but there are also reasons for optimism for the visitors.
Marcus Rashford boasts nine goal involvements in 16 against the Gunners, and even if the England star has failed to ignite so far, a return to the left flank last weekend led to his best performance of this fledgling season.
A double backing Rashford to score and yes to BTTS is decent value at 13/5
There is also Arsenal’s propensity to concede at home to consider, an odd flaw given how sublime they can be at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta’s men have kept only four clean sheets in their last 25 Premier League games in front of their own fans. In that time Manchester City have kept 10 and Liverpool and Manchester United have kept 12 apiece. Indeed, only Fulham have fared worse in this regard in the top-flight.
And it was Fulham who once again highlighted the sloppiness that can sometimes undo Arsenal’s fantastic forays at the other end, catching their hosts cold inside a minute last Saturday, then surprising one and all with a sucker-punch of an equalizer late on. It was the second home game in a row that the Gunners have been breached in the closing stages and should we tack on the tail-end of last term it appears to be an unwelcome habit they’ve picked up.
Five of their last 10 goals conceded have been converted beyond the 80th minute.
Over 1.5 goals in the second half tempts at 10/13
There are no such concerns of course going forward, not with Gabriel Martinelli twinkling and twerking down the left, and Bukayo Saka so impactful across the pitch. Showing his United counterparts how it’s entirely possible for a winger to hit the ground running from the off, Saka has so far averaged three key passes and 2.3 dribbles per 90, scoring twice into the bargain. He’ll likely be a prominent figure coming up against Diogo Dalot, reimagined on the left due to injuries.
As too will Eddie Nketiah, assuming that he manages to shrug off a knee issue. Having scored twice in this fixture last term, the 24-year-old is on a continual quest to prove himself a worthy starter for the Gunners and reserves his most persuasive arguments for the Emirates, notching ten in his last 13 there.
Already this season, the former England under 21 international has found the target twice, while also winning the crucial penalty that decided matters at Selhurst Park.
Broadening our scope beyond individuals leads us to the fixture itself, a match-up that infamously has blood on its hands from numerous dust-ups down the years.
It is encouraging therefore – or not, if you’re the disapproving kind – to discover this game’s feisty traditions are being upheld, even if the skirmishes have become more muted.
In their last ten meetings, Arsenal and United have shared out 4.5 yellows per 90.
It’s additionally heartening that the last four meetings have served up a bountiful 18 goals.
Backing Arsenal to win and over 4.5 cards total offers up 7/4
