Looking at the Premier League match ups this weekend, it’s clear that the match of the week has to go to table topping Arsenal and struggling Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arsenal have been on-fire this season, partly thanks to the summer signing of Mesut Ozil.
The German really proves the point that sometimes all you need is one great summer signing to really impact your team. It only seems like yesterday fans from all over the globe were criticising Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for not splashing the cash. Who knows, maybe the guy is smarter than we all think and he was planning this out all along. Although, this transfer probably wouldn’t have gone through if Gareth Bale hadn’t secured his deal at Real Madrid. With the arrival of Bale, Ozil was facing some stiff competition, and come on, we all knew the most expensive transfer in football history was going to play. So Ozil packed his bags and joined countrymen Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker at Arsenal, and what a fine move it was.
United are really going to have to step it up if they want to compete with Arsenal, (that was a sentence I’d never thought I would write) however, a win for United could make all the difference in the world. If United can win at home on Sunday, those three points will jump them up to 20, and depending on how Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea fare over the weekend, it could really move them up in the table. In fact, one point separates second from seventh, so really anything can happen, but defeat for United will make those title hopes seem that much further away.
United, however, do have two important factors on their side. The first is history – in this match-up of giants, Manchester United has a much higher winning percentage, inflicting defeat on Arsenal more times than not. The other factor is Robin van Persie. Currently United’s top scorer, Van Persie moved to the Theatre of dreams because Arsenal could not satisfy his need for trophies. He won the title in his first season with United, whilst his former club extended their trophy barren run. But RVP won’t be satisfied with one trophy and he definitely will not want Arsenal winning anything either.
My prediction is Arsenal, as I don’t think United have it in them to halt the on-fire Arsenal.
But come on guys, prove me wrong!