One of the biggest rivalries of the Premier League era is set to take center stage once again tomorrow when table-topping Arsenal welcomes Erik ten Hag’s revitalized Manchester United to north London to bookend the weekend program in the top flight of English football.
Currently separated by eight points in the table, the pair of bitter Premier League rivals come into Sunday’s monumental meeting with the joint-top run of form, sporting 16-point hauls from a possible eighteen and playing some of the best football in the country of late.
But for Gunners captain and creator-in-chief Martin Ødegaard, the chance to reverse the result in front of home support at the Emirates would be just the tonic on the back of Arsenal’s fantastic sprint to the top of the table, against a Red Devil’s outfit receiving justified praise from across the English landscape.
“Man United are obviously playing very well. I’ve watched them a lot lately and they look to me to be getting better and better this season. They’re doing well, but we must also remember the match at Old Trafford earlier in the season.”
“I felt that day we controlled most of the game and I felt we deserved a better result in the end. This time we want to show some more discipline, to control the game for 90 minutes and not just small periods.”
“It will be a tough game but we’re ready for it and we are feeling confident. We’re back at home too, and the atmosphere could make a big difference for us again. We know what the stadium will be like today, it will be amazing for sure.”
Arsenal could also be set to unleash January signing Leandro Trossard in some capacity after securing the versatile Belgian international forward from Brighton in a £27m move as Mikel Arteta and club technical director Edu Gaspar pad the senior set-up with added depth in order to sustain their title challenge in 2022-23 and beyond.
If Ødegaard has anything to say on the matter tomorrow, expect another influential performance and the possibility of the Gunners putting another foot forward toward ending a near-twenty-year drought.
