Arsenal Vs Manchester United: The perfectly designed opposition

Arsenal host Manchester United in a critical Premier League match-up on Sunday afternoon. Sadly, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are the perfectly designed opposition to overcome Unai Emery’s Gunners.

It might well be the biggest game of the season. Just one point between them. A top-four finish on the line. The race for Champions League intensifies. When Arsenal host Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, there will indeed be a whole lot to play for.

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United arrive at the Emirates after one of their great European nights. Their hosts, meanwhile, lost 3-1 to Rennes, capitulating once Sokratis was sent off late in the first half. This is not the time for the Gunners to be welcoming the hottest team in England.

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And tactically, there are concerns also. As the fourth-round FA Cup defeat showed in January, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are a very dangerous counter-attacking team. Although there are some cracks defensively, with a powerful, line-breaking midfielder in Paul Pogba, who is capable of turning attacks quickly in transition with driving runs or sprayed passes, and a frighteningly quick and free-roaming front line, led by Marcus Rashford, United are designed to play on the break.

They have proven time and time again under Solskjaer. Against Spurs, their first big win after Jose Mourinho’s departure. Then in the FA Cup victory at the Emirates. And now in Wednesday’s staggering win over Paris Saint-Germain that saw them into the Champions League quarter-finals. If there is anything this team does brilliantly, it is defend doggedly and break clinically.

Sadly, that is the precise kind of team that has caused Arsenal major issues in the past. Think of the many Chelsea matches in which they would dominate possession, create very little, and then get picked off by speedy counter-attacks. Or Atletico Madrid in last year’s Europa League semi-final. Or the many times Unai Emery’s side have been cut open by lesser Premier League sides.

The slow, patient build-up that prioritises possession, control and final-third creativity is lovely to watch and extremely effective when executed properly. But Arsenal are no Manchester City, and they often move the ball with too little speed and accuracy in attacking areas to ever trouble the opposition, eventually forced backwards or into a mistake, at which point their defensive structure becomes extremely vulnerable.

United are designed to play with that exact style. Solskjaer has drilled it into his players, even using Jesse Lingard in a false nine or Romelu Lukaku as a right winger to properly implement his plan.

If I could design a team to beat Emery’s system, it would be this United team with improved defensive personnel. That spells trouble for Sunday. It does not mean that Arsenal won’t win. But it does mean that they will have to either execute almost perfectly or try something different, and I am not sure they are capable or willing of either.