It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything, so hopefully the rust will be shaken off quickly and I’ll be able to offer some insight for this weekend’s fixture.
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| Coquelin looks set to make his Premier League debut. |
By no means is this a fixture that Arsenal takes lightly, but there is a great deal more optimism surrounding the club, well at least in the locker room it seems. United have gotten off the blocks for this season nicely, beating West Brom and the Spuds. The West Brom game presented United with much more of a test than the Spuds, who were flattened after a great thirty minutes in the second half. This is has been, and always will be a tough fixture for Arsenal, but by no means do I count us out tomorrow afternoon.
Suspensions and injuries continue to have a massive impact on the squad available for selection, applying more pressure to veterans such as Arshavin and RVP to play their top game. Here’s what I think the formation will look like tomorrow:
Szczesney
Sagna------Koscielny------ Vermaelen-------Traore
Ramsey------ Coquelin------Rosicky
Walcott------RVP------Arshavin
So what we see here is really a very tricky match day squad, especially for Premier League debutant, Francis Coquelin. Personally, I would rather see Henri Lansbury playing the deep DM role. He’s trained with the first team squad for awhile now and even was featured late against Liverpool last weekend. That said, if reports are to be believed that Coquelin will be handed his debut and hopefully he’ll fare well against Rooney and Co.
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| Manchester United may look to expose the flanks, so Traore must be on top form. |
I believe tomorrow’s focus will mirror the tactics used against Udinese. An attacking and very direct approach would be wise, mainly because if we can nip a goal or two near the beginning of the game it would set up nicely for our possession play. There will obviously be a great deal of importance placed on how well Ramsey will be able to control the game. He did good against Udinese in the second half, and completed 92% of his passes for the entire game. The United midfield does not have the kind of players that want to retain possession for long spells, they play best off the counter attacks. Relying on the speed of Nani and the overall play of Rooney to get their goals. Last season at the Emirates, we saw how effective Ramsey was. He played superbly and in the end, United looked very toothless. If we play that way tomorrow, Traore must be solid all game. United will look to expose us on the flanks, much like Udinese did, so if Traore is caught of position to often, the result could become very ugly.
Overall, I’m excited for tomorrow afternoon. The team showed a lot of spirit to be able to pull out a solid result in Italy this week; I think the mood will be good going to Old Trafford. United will obviously be favored, but there have been many times when Arsenal has produced a stunning result when all was thought to be lost.
Keep the faith, until tomorrow.
By Thad Torrez
Follow him on Twitter - @thad4dified
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