Arsenal vs Manchester United: This is the right thing to do

Arsenal have left the majority of their regular starters at home for the Manchester United journey, and while it may suck, it’s the right thing to do.

To me, there are few matches that get me jazzed up quite like traveling to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United. The boost in momentum from an Arsenal win at the Theatre of Dreams is massive and the joy it gives is worth any sort of missing implications.

Since Jose Mourinho has been there, it has been doubly important, as there is no manager I enjoy seeing lose as much as him.

Obviously, it’s impossible not to think about when we went 3-0 after 20 minutes and that was that. It was brilliant, it was empowering, it was everything you could ever want from an Arsenal match and it all happened so quickly and conclusively.

It’s going to be difficult for the Gunners to replicate that today. Not just because it has been an impossible task to find our spine on the road, or because it is Jose Mourinho, who figures to be riled up to spoil Arsene Wenger‘s last trip to his new digs, but because of the fact that Arsenal left the majority of their incisive attackers at home.

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I don’t care what defenders they left, because our defense sucks anyway, but they did not bring a handful of their attacking stars, instead choosing to load up on youth talent, five of whom made the trip to Manchester ahead of their first team counterparts.

It’s still exciting. Many of us have been calling for more chances for youth players all year, because at the very least, we know these young academy products are desperate to prove themselves and, as such, don’t even have the potential to look uninterested, as our players often can.

Still, there isn’t avoiding the small hint of disappointment that we likely won’t have our killer attackers slicing and dicing at Old Trafford. I want to see Alexis Sanchez flustered more than anything else, even if it only finishes 0-0, I want to see the Chilean pouting and grasping at straws for fouls.

Next: 5 Things Learned Against Atletico Madrid

But if none of this happens, and even if people find a reason to ridicule Arsene Wenger for it, we have to all at least accept that he did the right thing. The second leg against Atletico Madrid is far more important than any pointless Premier League match.