Manchester United vs Arsenal: 4 key player battles

Some of the great battles of the Premier League era have been contested between Arsenal and Manchester United, the two sides once towering over the competition at the top of English football.

Mouth watering ties include invigorating head-to-head battles, with the Vieira and Keane moments among the finest the division has and ever will see.

Ahead of Thursday’s meeting at Old Trafford, these two teams find themselves in positions far from the upper echelons they once reigned supreme in. Should Mikel Arteta’s side emerge victorious they will be no less than eight points ahead of the Red Devils. Their current five-point gap puts them in a strong footing for this one.

With one of two meetings between the clubs completed after matchday 14, the race for a European spot could take on an entirely new outlook with 24 games left to play.

Manchester United vs Arsenal: 4 key player battles as Mikel Arteta’s side head to Old Trafford for Thursday’s Premier League match

In other words, this is a huge game. Both teams have similar ambitions this season, one set of which has been revised despite the additions of three world class players from across Europe, and it’s all set up for a monstrous clash.

Tactically it’s going to be fascinating to watch unfold with new United manager Ralf Rangnick not yet taking control of his team but nonetheless boasting an entirely different playing philosophy to his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

While that side of matters won’t play out until kick-off, pre-match preparations on the opposition players’ strengths and weaknesses certainly will.

Across the pitch there will be some battles playing out, four of which stand out as key in helping determine the final result.

Thomas Partey vs Bruno Fernandes

Thomas Partey’s performance at Old Trafford last season still stands out as one of his finest in an Arsenal shirt. He didn’t just dominate the midfield, he bossed everyone in it: Fred, McTominay, Pogba and Bruno Fernades in that diamond shape could not cope.

Played in a false nine type role for United against Chelsea last time out, it’s unlikely that Bruno will be used likewise against Arsenal with a return to his favoured No. 10 slot expected.

Whatever the setup or system, and based on Bruno’s pressing role against Chelsea, the man who the hosts will target is Partey in midfield. The growing trend has been to crowd him out of matches and cut off his supply, keeping bodies around him at all times.

Bruno’s excellent work rate will see him given this role and the ability to withstand the assumed targeting of him will be Partey’s great assignment at Old Trafford.

What he did brilliantly in the previous meeting was position himself cutely alongside Mohamed Elneny to receive the ball in positions where he could feint on the half turn and charge beyond his man. That’s been less prevalent in his game of late but he still has the capacity to dominate this game both on the ball, or off it to deal with United’s transitional play.

Having looked a touch uninspiring of late (for which there are many possible reasons) this is a game where the senior players have to stand up and be counted for. That includes Partey front and centre.

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2. Harry Maguire vs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Harry Maguire has been horrendous this season. Defensively his team are a shambles and he’s made more post-match speeches about ‘looking in the mirror’ and ‘going again’ than he has produced solid performances.

Back for this one after further idiocy with two bookable offences against Watford, he has to be looked at as a weak link in this team. His confidence is shot. Even if he feels scoring headers against Albania at Wembley somehow spares him of scorn and thus silences his critics, he is there to be got at and Aubameyang will be the man closest to him all game long.

There is a discussion to be had that the skipper won’t be the ideal fit for this match if Gabriel Martinelli plays on the right, but Arteta will select him when available and playing on his shoulder all match long is the ideal way to unsettle him.

Being the fridge he is means he can win the physical duels against Aubameyang, so it will all be about making the right runs towards the near post where he always loses his marker, and side stepping out of his peripheral vision to keep him guessing.

While he will play since he is the captain, Eric Bailly and Lindelof would be the partnership Arsenal would least prefer. They’re both accidents on legs but are, for the most part, better at carrying out their defensive duties.

Aubameyang needs to be ruthless against a defence that has conceded the fifth most goals in the division this season. Maguire’s fingerprints are all over those figures.

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3. Emile Smith Rowe & Nuno Tavares vs Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Dropping a casual £50m for Aaron Wan-Bissaka in 2019, the former Eagle has been a mainstay in the team for his two and a third seasons at the club, during which time he hasn’t improved in the way United would have liked.

His breakout season at Crystal Palace was best noted for the insane defensive numbers, clocking up 99th percentile numbers for tackle and interceptions, pressures in the defensive third, blocks and dribbles completed.

Where he was weakest, however, was clear: Wan-Bissaka contributed next to nothing in the final third and struggled with spatial awareness. Those two points remain.

Emile Smith Rowe will have trouble beating him one-on-one, because everyone does. The 24-year-old is a superb man-to-man defender and the Croydon vs Croydon showdown will mostly have one winner.

However, when players run beyond him or behind him, he loses all sight of them. The amount of times United concede at the back post due to Wan-Bissaka’s dreadful covering is remarkable.

For that reason, whoever lines up at left-back, whether Nuno or Tierney, will be viewing this side of the pitch as somewhere they can hurt United. Combination play down that left to get someone attacking Wan-Bissaka’s blindside with second man runs will cause them harm.

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4. Benjamin White vs Cristiano Ronaldo

During a Q&A five matches into his Gunners career Benjamin White was asked which team he was most looking forward to playing in the Premier League, and when he was asked why he chose United, he said: “I’d probably say playing against [Cristiano] Ronaldo, you know.”

Asked how he thought he’d fare against him, he responded with a smirk: “I’ll be all right”.

Obviously a bit of fun where he was always going to back himself, everyone knows full well that if Cristiano Ronaldo does score that video is getting clipped up and posted everywhere. Whatever the outcome of Thursday’s game, the battle to come between the two is going to be the most interesting of all.

Ronaldo will surely come back into the fold at Old Trafford and White will play barring some unforeseen injury, so how he goes about handling the 36-year-old is going to be some test.

The biggest concern is aerially. Not because White is weak in the air, merely because Ronaldo is farcically strong in that department. Truth be told, he’s still outstanding in near enough every facet of his game. There is no use in denying how exceptional he still is at putting the ball in the back of the net.

Will he target any one Arsenal defender? Gabriel, just like White, will fancy his chances and the more physically imposing frame of the Brazilian stands as strong of a chance as any at keeping him quiet. He’s pocketed Harry Kane twice. He can keep Ronaldo quiet.

Both central defenders will have their hands full. Any pairing will against Ronaldo, and watching it unfold will be one of the most engrossing aspects of the match.