[4-3-3]: Declan Rice and Odegaard’s position changed- Arsenal predicted lineup against Manchester United as Arteta promised to change TWO player’s positions
Arsenal have returned to form in fine style and at the back of a superb 5-2 win over West Ham United, the Gunners will now welcome Manchester United in matchweek 14 of the Premier League.
After a string of poor results, Arsenal have now won three games on the trot and in 270 minutes of league football, the North London side have scored an eye-catching 13 goals while conceding only three.
Mikel Arteta’s side will definitely go into this tie as the favourites but this new-look Ruben Amorim side isn’t one to shy away and they will undoubtedly throw the kitchen sink at the home side. United have looked a lot more positive since their new manager has taken over and Arsenal will have to sweat harder than usual to pick up all three points.
The Gunners are currently sitting second on the league table but City, Chelsea and Brighton are all within touching distance which means an adverse result could very well push the North London side out of the top four.
Arsenal’s team news and injury updates:
Mikel Arteta will be sweating over the fitness of Gabriel who had to be taken off on Saturday. The manager later confirmed that it was a reoccurrence of the injury he had picked up vs Sporting.
The manager said after the Hammers win: “It was related to the previous injury that he had in Lisbon and obviously he did great to be part of that but with that result and with the niggle that he’s feeling, we decided to take him off.”
Hopefully, Arsenal took him off in time and he is ready to face Manchester United but if he is not available then Kiwior will come into the starting lineup.
Thomas Partey and Mikel Merino both missed the West Ham game due to injuries and there are question marks over their fitness as well.
If the pair cannot recover in time then Jorginho will once again have to play in the CDM role and this will be a bit of a concern for the Arsenal manager. Jorginho did very well at the weekend but we doubt if the 32-year-old can keep pace with the likes of Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes.
Arsenal sorely missed Martin Odegaard during the time he was out injured but the Gunners have sprung back to life immediately after his return. Since making his comeback, the playmaker has scored one and assisted one goal.
Bukayo Saka is in a league of his own right now and in just 12 Premier League matches, the England international has already clocked up 15 goal appearances. Ruben Amorim will definitely have a plan to stop the winger and it will be interesting to see how Saka evades the United defenders.
Gabriel Martinelli was an unused sub on Saturday but he is likely to come into the starting XI for Arsenal, replacing Leandro Trossard out on the left wing. Trossard provided two goal contributions against the Hammers but Mikel Arteta will rely on Martinelli in midweek.
Ben White and Tomiyasu are the only two players are are completely ruled out and while Tomiyasu should be back in some time, White isn’t going to return to action before next year.
Arsenal predicted lineup vs Manchester United:
Goalkeeper: David Raya.
Defenders: Timber, Calafiori, William Saliba, Gabriel.
Midfielders: Declan Rice, Odegaard, Partey/Jorginho
Attackers: Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz.
