Arsenal look likely to outgun United

Manchester United’s new head coach Ruben Amorim faces by far his sternest test yet on Wednesday, as the Red Devils visit Arsenal in the English Premier League.

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It is safe to say Amorim has had a rather soft landing since arriving at United, following the sacking of Erik Ten Hag, and the departure of interim head coach Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

United were held to a 1-1 Premier League draw by Ipswich at Portman Road, and followed that up with a 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt in the Uefa Europa League.

Spirits will have been lifted considerably, meanwhile, by United’s 4-0 hammering of Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

There is still, however, a mountain of work to do for Amorim to get United anywhere near a return to the glory days they enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have been the closest challengers to the dominance of Manchester City over the last two seasons, and have recovered from a bit of a stumble ahead of the November international break.

The return of captain Martin Odegaard to the starting line-up after injury has given the Gunners a huge lift. Arsenal have rattled in 13 goals in their last three matches in all competitions, putting three past Nottingham Forest, and five each past Sporting Lisbon and West Ham United.

Amorim will do well to find a way to cope with Odegaard’s ability to link up with the brilliant Bukayo Saka, who has five goals and ten assists in just 12 Premier League matches this season.

United’s record at the Emirates stadium in recent seasons is also dismal. They have not won a league match at Arsenal since 2017, though they did win there in the FA Cup fourth round in January 2019.

Arsenal have won five out of the last six Premier League meetings with United at the Emirates, with the other ending in a goalless draw in January 2021.

Despite the ‘new manager bounce’ of Amorim, Arsenal will surely prove too good again on Wednesday.

Prediction – Arsenal 2 Man Utd 0