Ragnick in waiting as Arteta's Arsenal march on

Carrick on pre-interim duties

Michael Carrick's brief spell on the back of Ole's departure has seen a brief upturn in form. A midweek win away at Villarreal coupled with a valiant 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea in his two games in the hot seat has helped ready the squad for Ralf Ragnick's impending arrival. The introduction of his gegenpressing system is something that Carrick has been preparing his side for, with a clearer willingness to press from midfield and limit the space in which the opposition has to work. The game at Chelsea has shown even the slightest improvement in mentality more than anything. A Man United side that looked defensively organised and limited a high-flying Chelsea to limited chances. If it weren't for a rash moment courtesy of Aaron Wan-Bissaka's flailing boot, and United would have come away with all three points. A slip from the goalscorer and man who came third place in the Ballon d'Or awards on Monday night led to Jadon Sancho's second goal in as many games. The English winger has gotten off the mark for United and looks to play a major role in the incoming German managers system. The Man United faithful will be in good voice on Thursday night with the prospect of a new dawn at Old Trafford. This is the Reds first game since Ole's departure, and the mood in the crowd will be up for a game against an old enemy. The point that United picked up at the weekend does little for their league position for the time being, with the Red Devils still being some five points behind their visitors on Thursday evening.

Gunners bounced back from Anfield battering

The young Guns once again pulled through in their last game. Despite a calamitous miss from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsdale pulling off save after save, it looked as if the Gunners would slump to a second defeat on the bounce. But up stepped Bukayo Saka to sweep home a smart finish, and added to by super sub Gabriel Martinelli who topped the Englishman's effort with a delightful first time strike to seal the win for Arteta's side. While this was against a mighty struggling Newcastle outfit, it showed that this young side has the character to bounceback from a potential derailing loss to the Premier League champions. This leaves the Gunners level on points with West Ham in fourth place, and looking to continue their recent surge up the table with picking up some points from Old Trafford. Last season saw them grab a 1-0 win away at United, with Aubameyang's penalty being the difference between the two sides back on November 1st 2020. But with fans back crammed into Old Trafford to witness the latest instalment of this historic rivalry, it could be a very tasty affair come Thursday night. Arsenal have certainly been benefitting from a lack of European football this year, something their opposition cannot rely on. Without European competition, it's allowed a young manager to focus on his young sides' efforts domestically, and start making some wholesale changes to how the team plays. Experimenting and tinkering with different versions of a similar system seems to have landed the Spaniard with his favoured starting eleven and exact formation.

Picking a winner from this one is sheer pot luck. With such a varied set of results over the years, and a struggling Man United having a new manager bounce while this relatively new-look Arsenal with the wind in their sails. It's certainly going to be an entertaining affair. That's why I'm going with over 2.5 goals with bet365.

Bet Over 2.5 goals on Bet365