Manchester United are set to host Arsenal on Monday night in what will be the biggest clash of the Premier League weekend. Red Devils are hosting Gunners after a poor outing against Rochdale in EFL Cup, but will now want to drastically improve their game in order to beat an old rival.
Arsenal, on the other hand, are coming to town after conceding two or more goals in their last four league games. What do we need to know about Arsenal before the Monday night meeting?
Results So Far
Gunners started their campaign with two wins, first a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Newcastle, before a somewhat lucky 2-1 win against Burnley in which the two sides were quite even. Then came Liverpool and there was no way for Arsenal to get out of that ‘alive’, especially as Unai Emery made mistakes in starting lineup and system of play and Liverpool won 3-1.
That was followed by the North London Derby and Arsenal drew 2-2 after losing 2-0, but the result was on merit for both sides. A 2-2 draw against Watford who are still without a win was not good, especially as Hornets had 32 shots on Arsenal’s goal. Finally, a 3-2 win over Aston Villa followed, despite being 2-1 down and playing with ten men.
Disbalance In The Team
Arsenal have done some decent business in the summer, but so far, they still have the same problems. Their attack is really good and it can look superb, their defence is not good and it can look awful. And such a disbalance is not good for a side that wants to finish in the top four. Maybe they will need to ride on that wave of scoring lots of goals, but it could also be that such a shaky defence with David Luiz in it could mean it will stumble them.
What better stat is there to showcase this just by looking that they have scored 11 and conceded 10 goals so far?
A Bit Of Luck In Front Of The Goal
Arsenal have been lucky this season in front of the goal, as they have scored 11 goals when Understat’s expected goals model is suggesting they were expected to score 8.75. And not only that, their expected goals against are suggesting they should have on average conceded 11 goals instead of 10.
This is obvious from those matches against Watford and Burnley when they scored twice in both matches from not so great chances. But that is what happens when you have attackers like Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. They are a threat to every team in the league.
Ceballos Still Finding Feet
Dani Ceballos is still finding his feet in the Premier League and that is not a surprise. His match against Liverpool was a nice reality check, for the Spaniard to see just how tough this league can be. But nevertheless, he is the player that when he is playing his game, every team should worry about. Man United’s midfield might have a lot of issues with him in that regard, as Ceballos can do it all – create for others, progress the ball up the pitch, win it back when necessary and be a threat coming in late near the box.
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