Ibrahimović Close to Joining Arsenal & City Before Heading to Old Trafford

Zlatan Ibrahimović has revealed that he turned down offers to join both Arsenal and Manchester City, before eventually deciding upon a move to Premier League rivals Manchester United. The mercurial Swede linked up with former boss Jose Mourinho in making the move to the red side of Manchester, describing the Portuguese as a “mastermind” who knows exactly how to get the most from his players. The former Barcelona and PSG man has enjoyed a stellar start to life in England, scoring four goals in his opening four games, and will line up for United in the Manchester derby this coming weekend hoping to write his name into the home side’s record books. Despite turning down opportunities to play in the Premier League earlier on in his career, Ibrahimović is certainly making up for lost time, and could well be the catalyst for a title chase at Old Trafford this season.

Both United and fierce rivals City have made a 100% winning start to the new campaign, with Pep Guardiola, along with Mourinho, seemingly settling into their new roles with relative ease. Saturday afternoon’s fixture will provide the first indication of the credentials of both team’s with both men keen to get one over on each other at the earliest opportunity. The two famous managers had their fair share of battles during their time in Spain, with Guardiola more often than not coming out on top. Despite this, there is little to choose between the two clubs in the betting odds at Betser, with the absence of City talisman Sergio Aguero perhaps leading to some favouring United to claim all three points.

Aguero was charged with violent conduct by the FA following an apparent elbow on West Ham defender Winston Reid, and despite an appeal from City, the Argentine striker was subsequently banned for three matches. Having previously been the favourite to open the scoring at Old Trafford, Ibrahimović is now odds on at Betser to find the back of the net first in the game.

United themselves have an injury concern over new signing HenrikhMkhitaryan, with the Armenian suffering an injury on international duty last week. The former Dortmund man is thought to face a battle to prove his fitness in time for the encounter, with Juan Mata likely to once again earn a starting place if the midfielder does not recover sufficiently.