Manchester United vs. Arsenal – England Premier League Match Preview, Old Trafford Manchester, England, 8:45 AM EST Saturday November 3, 2012
By Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Manchester United 1.66 / Arsenal 5.00 / Draw 4.00
Moneyline: Manchester United -150 / Arsenal +400 / Draw +300
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
Manchester United sits in 2nd place in the England Premier League and with their HUGE win over Chelsea in their last EPL match they now only sit 1 point behind the Blues.
Arsenal has not enjoyed a very good start to the league season, as they sit in 6th place in the league table. They have lost 2 of their last 3 league matches and they have really struggled on the road only winning 1 away league match. Still, they are only 7 points behind Chelsea and there is a lot of soccer to play.
Arsenal is the big away underdog in this match, but they have a great defense and have conceded the fewest goals in the league. They will have to play good defense facing a Man United team that has scored the most goals in the league and on top of that the Gunners do not have a great offensive attack.
Manchester United has not lost since the end of September and their offense has been on fire scoring 17 goals in their last 5 matches. It is a good thing their offense has been firing on all cylinders, as their defense has struggled. In their last 4 matches they have given up 11 goals. The Red Devils gave up 5 goals in their last match, but it was not a league match.
Not only has the Arsenal offense not played well this season, but also on top of that leading goal scorer Gervinho (3 goals) has been ruled out for 3 weeks because of an ankle injury. They gave also dealt with injuries to their goalies, but their D still keeps playing well.
Speaking of the Arsenal defense they have to key on Man U FW Robin Van Persie, who leads the EPL in scoring with 7 goals.
The Gunners may have a bad memory when they walk onto the pitch, as last season at Old Trafford Arsenal was crushed losing to Man U 8-2.
Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshire have recently returned for the Gunners and that will really help the away team in this match.
With Gervinho out for this match the Gunners will need offense from the likes of Lukas Podolski (2 goals), Santi Cazorla (2 goals), and Theo Walcott (2 goals). With the struggles of the Manchester United defense these guys will get their chances and the Gunners will not be shut out.
Van Persie is not the only player the Red Devils have to worry about, as even though he is the only player with more than 2 goals on the season. However, Man U is a very deep team with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rafael, and Shinji Kagawa, who all have 2 goals. Yeah, the Gunners have the defense, but they will not be able to contain the Man U offense, as they will score at least 3 goals.
Arsenal has played well in the midfield, well at least on defense, but they must spurn the offensive attack from that part of the field. It is also key that they pounce on counter attack chances, as the Red Devils will be on the offensive from the opening whistle.
Manchester United Recent Form
10/7/2012 Newcastle United 0 Manchester United 3 (Premier League)
10/20/2012 Manchester United 4 Stoke City 2 (Premier League)
10/23/2012 Manchester United 3 Braga 2 (Champions League)
10/28/2012 Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3 (Premier League)
10/31/2012 Chelsea 5 Manchester United 4 (Capital One Cup)
Arsenal Recent Form
10/6/2012 West Ham United 1 Arsenal 3 (Premier League)
10/20/2012 Norwich City 1 Arsenal 0 (Premier League)
10/24/2012 Arsenal 0 Schalke 04 2 (Champions League)
10/27/2012 Arsenal 1 Queens Park Rangers 0 (Premier League)
10/30/2012 Reading 5 Arsenal 7 ( Capital One Cup)
Jason’s Pick to Win the Match: The Gunners will not get crushed like the 8-2 drubbing last season, but they will not win this match. Manchester United just has way too much offense and they are at home and they will win this match 3-1 or 3-2.
