Arsenal vs Manchester United: 3 key battles in huge Premier League showdown

2. Martin Odegaard vs Manuel Ugarte

Although both players have struggled for game time of late, this should still make for a fascinating duel.

Five yellow cards mean Kobbie Mainoo will miss the Emirates trip, and it is expected that Manuel Ugarte will replace him. The former Sporting CP star is a defensive workhorse whose commitment formed the bedrock of the Amorim midfield in 2022/23 when he earned 47 appearances across all competitions.

On Wednesday, he will represent the best United hope for stifling Arsenal as he closes down with huge endeavour and makes interceptions like few others can (two per 90 minutes on average – 98th percentile across the top five European leagues), something which could prove quite disruptive to our build-up play.

But Martin Odegaard is up for the challenge. Our captain has made a transformative impact since his return from injury and nowhere was that more evident than against Ugarte’s (and Amorim’s) former club last week, with his passing and movement being key to the 5-1 win.

A 3-4-3 formation could perhaps limit the time and space that Odegaard gets to work his magic, yet he generally finds a way to wield his influence, and one could only play down his creative spark at their peril.

An Ode to Joy is very much on the cards.  

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