Arsenal travels to Old Trafford on Monday to take on a lackluster Manchester United.
The Gunners, coming off a convincing 5-0 win against Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup, will be looking to add some misery to an already woeful Premier League campaign to their historic rivals. Manchester United has been dreadful by its standards, winning just two games, drawing two and losing two in the Premier League.
Arsenal has fared slightly better, winning one more match than its rival, but ultimately hasn’t truly impressed; the Gunners gave up two goals at home to Aston Villa and drew 2-2 with bottom-of-the-table Watford and gave up an incredible 31 shots.
It’s truly incredible how times change. Arsenal was once Premier League title challengers (and winners) under Arsene Wenger in the early 2000s, but has since dropped off. The Gunners’ best position in the Premier League in the past few years was a second-place finish behind Leicester in 2016.
Arsenal on paper has a great team, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette leading the line and Dani Ceballos playing just underneath. Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno are also notable players within the team. Still, the Gunners have lacked a cutting edge and an ability to manage games and it has cost points on a number of occasions.
Manchester United has been no better.
After Ferguson’s last season in 2013, the lack of proper coaching, correct signings, overall shoddy business practices from the Glazers and Ed Woodward has gotten Manchester United far from challenging for the title again. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s appointment as manager has come with mixed reviews. On the one hand, his dedication to youth and attacking football is admirable, but his experience as a Premier League manager is questionable.
In addition, the squad at his disposal is lackluster and best. Marcus Rashford has been poor all around, Jesse Lingard has been toothless and the midfield spare Paul Pogba is incredibly weak. Injuries have affected the squad too: Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw among the notable names.
Based on the struggles of both teams, Monday’s derby could either be really exciting, a blowout or just dull. Let’s hope it’s not the latter.
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