Man Utd to heap more misery on Arsenal
Arsenal host Man Utd on New Year’s Day with the Gunners just six points above the relegations zone. Can United heap more misery on the beleaguered Londoners? Have a read of our preview here:
New manager, same old story
Well well well, what a surprise? A new manager has not fixed Arsenal! As if it would. The Gunners are not where they are because of any one man in the dugout but rather a poor transfer policy that has seen them fall well behind both their ‘big six’ rivals and nearly half of all the other Premier League teams.
Leicester have built a team with great camaraderie whereas Arsenal are limp as a three-day old lettuce.
Mikel Arteta may be saying all the right things, but he will need more than articulation (or Artetalation) to get the Gunners heading back towards the top four. The slide is quite alarming and even at lower league level there is an acknowledgement that success starts at the back. This rings true so Arsenal are in big, big trouble.
January may see them sign a couple of players but they are not in any position to attract the kind of players who can transform their current fortunes. Draws with Everton and Bournemouth were followed by defeat to Chelsea which included a stunning collapse in the final seven minutes.
Costly mistakes are not helping with Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno making more errors leading to goals than any other Premier League player since August 2018 (seven) with the latest against Frank Lampard’s side on Sunday.
They need to take the positives from the first 30 minutes against Chelsea where they were dominant and Arteta needs to focus on why they ran out of steam.
Man United still nowhere near
Despite only losing one of their last nine league games this United side are still not totally convincing. They are making progress and will be favourites to win at the Emirates on 01 January but this is a side still with a number of problems.
Good performances against Newcastle and Burnley have helped banish the woeful effort against Watford but United are currently chasing Chelsea for a Champions League spot and can’t afford any more efforts like the one at Vicarage Road.
January will be a big month with main target Erling Haaland already out of reach after the Norwegian signed for Dortmund. They will be looking elsewhere but you feel their diminished status as things currently stand could make things harder making a top-four finish even more important.
Arsenal v Manchester United betting tip
Arsenal cannot defend but they have enough quality going forward to pinch a goal. At the back they are like swiss cheese on a rifle range so backing both teams to score at odds of 8/15 with bet365 appears worth a go in this one.
