Manchester United drew 2-2 against Southampton on Saturday and are now getting ready for a succession of matches. The first one comes on Wednesday, as the Devils will host Arsenal at Old Trafford. It is an understatement to say the two sides are entering this match in different moods.
Arsenal have played incredibly well in the North London Derby, beating Tottenham 4-2 after trailing 2-1 at half-time. Man United, on the other hand, trailed one of the worse sides in division by two goals after just 20 minutes. A point was salvaged, but that was it. This match now could be crucial for Man United for several reasons. Whether you are positive or negative about their chances against an in-form Arsenal, this clash could tell us so much.
Lose And Say Goodbye To Champions League
Arsenal are currently in fourth place with 30 points. Man United have 22 and are in seventh and loss to Arsenal would mean trailing Gunners by 11 points on 5 December. That is almost four wins behind the fourth place and we are still relatively far from Christmas. If Man United lose, how realistic would it be for them to reach Champions League football next season if right now there are not many of those who believe that will happen?
Post-Fergie And Post-Arsene Differences
Arsene Wenger left Arsenal this summer and Unai Emery was appointed. If the Spaniard gets the better of Mourinho, it could easily turn out that Arsenal are doing this post-big manager period much better than United did after Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Simply, Arsenal are putting proper structures into the club, like employees brought in for recruiting players, and their choice of the manager seems more measured than David Moyes was.
It looks already like Arsenal’s recruitment post-Wenger looks much better, with Lucas Torreira being a great addition to the team and Bernd Leno showing he is an upgrade on Petr Cech.
Mourinho Could Get Sacked
If Man United lose at Old Trafford, could that be the thing that makes Ed Woodward make the big decision. In the case of a loss, it would be just two points for Man United from 12 possible in the last four Premier League matches. The team would be 11 points from the fourth place and even possibly 11 points from the fifth.
Mourinho getting sacked after another terrible result would definitely change United’s season, but for how much, there are too many factors for us to say now. Though, it all looks now like Jose is staying for a longer while.
Different Approach In January
This match could be an alarm for the club that big changes are necessary. Well, maybe not alarm, as the board can already see how poor Man United are, but more of a trigger to finally decide on what to do next. More money to spend for Mourinho? It is a possibility, whether that would turn out to be good or bad is a completely different story.
However, if Man United win, that could be a two-edged sword, as you could never be safe with Woodward. He could actually think things will work out by themselves…
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