[Hugh Jass]

McT scares me in Midfield but Fred and Eriksen as the double pivot is also a bit light weight.

Our bench is looking weak too.

My fear is Arsenal will come out of the block firing and we might be a couple of goals down before we know it

Yea same. I recall under Van Gaal they were three up after 25 minutes, and that was an arsenal team that wasnt as good as this one.

Going to be a long day i feel.

 

[RuudTom83]

United need to get through the first 30 mins, Weghorst and Antony can both play defensively…then use Garnacho and Fred in the second half.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

What’s wrong with Martial this time? Unbelievable. Dump him in the summer for some cash and move on.

 

[Il Prete Rosso]

That’s their usual game plan - fierce press in the first 30 minutes in order to kill the game off, then a considerable intensity drop. We need to hold them off in the first half if we want anything from the game.

The drop off is game management. You can't maintain that intensity for long periods as inevitably, players are gonna get fatigued by half time. There are particular parts of a game that a manager would actually tell his team to slow the game down and allow the opposition team to either to try and win the ball back or tire them out if you're a team that maintains possession well. When I learned this at the coaching academy I was actually shocked by the way some teams employ this strategy to great effect.

 

[VP89]

Only problem is that winger doesn’t attack his fullback

The way zincenko vacates his position so easily, he may not have to. Good example is Antonys goal vs Arsenal last time

 

[Red in STL]

I do think mcT is better when he starts. When he comes off the bench he generally struggles to get up to speed with the game and gives away silly free kicks.

That's true, I think he's starting because of his physical strength, Fred has been at his best this season as a sub and will probably come on for Eriksen after an hour or so, and if we need a goal we'll see Garnacho on at some point for Antony or Weghorst

 

[bosnian_red]

Good timing for Weghorst to arrive right as Martial gets injured again

 

[FrankDrebin]

The negativity in this thread is disgusting. Just fecking embarrassing.

Disgusting, isn't it ?
I'm being all positive here yet here we are amongst these doom and gloom merchants. Losers the lot of them. Disgusting. And they stink of elderberries Bluh !

 

[Massive Spanner]

The Palace fixture rescheduling is infuriating, really. Arsenal have had a week off while we’ve had 3 days and have our best player suspended. Load of wank. Feels like everything is falling into their pockets.

 

[FrankDrebin]

We'll lose.

 

[MUFC OK]

That team is scary. Would like to know the rationale for going with the same midfield that got dismantled against city.

Edit: that mid beat arsenal last time but weghorsthas no pace for the counter.

 

[space]

Gonna be painful this

 

[Chairman Steve]

What’s wrong with Martial this time? Unbelievable. Dump him in the summer for some cash and move on.

Saw another new forward come in and couldnt be bothered

 

[Sunny Jim]

not sure you’re happy or not

 

[Roboc7]

It’s a huge risk starting Mctominay without Fred. Guess he is playing for a physical presence but if he gets bypassed as easily as usual they will have a field day.

This could be a tough watch, we will be overrun in midfield and our attacking threat is totally dependant on Rashford. Having to play midweek was a big disadvantage as well so can see Arsenal winning fairly comfortably.

 

[FootyGirl88]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[2 man midfield]

We haven’t seen a big performance from McTominay in a while. About time he proved to us why he shouldn’t be sold to Newcastle.

 

[Il Prete Rosso]

Non-existent midfield. Just the thought of McTominay going against Partey and Odeegard fills me with feelings of dread and foreboding. If in 2020 you told me Scott McTominay would still be starting games for Manchester United in 2023, I wouldn't have believed you. Yes, I get it, there is no one else. That's the problem. And then there's Eriksen, who has struggled with the intensity of these games. Why is Fred not starting when he's very good in these games?

We are in for a hiding.

Disagree. Eriksen, McT and Fernandes aren't exactly a bad midfield combination. The problem is the work rate.

 

[Ayoba]

Lightweight midfield, would've preferred Fred in there. We'll get overrun, easy arsenal win.

 

[pseudo_canadian]

The Palace fixture rescheduling is infuriating, really. Arsenal have had a week off while we’ve had 3 days and have our best player suspended. Load of wank. Feels like everything is falling into their pockets.

Yeah the timing of it all is bullshit really. No other way to cut it.

 

[Slevs]

Wonder if we'll man mark like they will do to us.

 

[Hoof the ball]

I think it's quite obvious why McTominay is playing and not Fred. Although I prefer Fred, especially in games where we have Casemiro playing, McTominay is there for the verticality. He has more vertical running capacity than Fred. Fred is better in terms of his energy, especially with a press, but, when you factor in that Arsenal could have quite a bit of the ball in our half it's very much a case of us needing a vertical runner in midfield to break forward and offer some legs off the ball in transition.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Scott not Fred is a huge mistake imo.

 

[Scorpy]

The drop off is game management. You can't maintain that intensity for long periods as inevitably, players are gonna get fatigued by half time. There are particular parts of a game that a manager would actually tell his team to slow the game down and allow the opposition team to either to try and win the ball back or tire them out if you're a team that maintains possession well. When I learned this at the coaching academy I was actually shocked by the way some teams employ this strategy to great effect.

Yes, of course the intensity drop is intentional and logical.

 

[Red in STL]

That team is scary. Would like to know the rationale for going with the same midfield that got dismantled against city.

We aren't playing City though and this midfield beat Arsenal earlier this season, it's comes down to McT and if he has his one in 10 good game, if he does we can win this, Arsenal are terrified of Rashford on the break and this the kind of game he tends to do well in

 

[prateik]

After Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle all dropping points, and spurs losing twice in the last week, the pressure is off
Would love to beat Arsenal.. as is always the case.. but for the top 4, this one is a freebie.

After this, we'd have played the top 2 twice already, with only 20 games played..

teams fine.. a win would be great.. They have a great record at home so will take anything really..

 

[Dannn411]

I may well have egg on my face by the end of the game but that midfield selection is incredibly naive and is asking for serious trouble IMO.

 

[Josh 76]

If Ten Haag pulls this off, he should be knighted!

 

[Superden]

So the match day mob have now decided fred is the second coming of matthaus. Having had a meltdown whenever he's named in the starting eleven prior.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

When we have the ball, having Scott in the team is like playing with ten men.

 

[Infra-red]

No Fred is a surprise. Our midfield would be overrun if we tried to compete in that zone - it looks like than plan will be to sit in and hit them on the break instead.

 

[macheda14]

Our midfield is going to be absolutely run through.

 

[GwilDor]

Will be interesting to see the gameplan from ETH. He needs to have something special to make up for our midfield being significantly weaker than Arsenals. Need a tactical masterpiece here, along with better efficiency in front of goal. Expecting a loss, but hoping to be surprised/impressed.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

So the match day mob have now decided fred is the second coming of matthaus. Having had a meltdown whenever he's named in the starting eleven prior.

Fred is the most misunderstood player in our squad.

 

[Dan_F]

I felt that for sure it had to be Fred, Eriksen and McTominay in there. We’ll see I guess

 

[Houdini]

McT over Fred? hmm...I hope McT will put his MOTM performance, or we are doomed otherwise.

 

[jackal&hyde]

It's only Arsenal. Relax. We did them before we'l do them again.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

If we lose today it'll be because arsenal are better than us. So many fans still haven't wrapped their head around football not being played on paper and results aren't predictable on one personnel being there

 

[always_hoping]

If just the one change i would have expected Fred before McTom but ETH knows best and hopefully it's enough to pull off at least a draw.

 

[justboy68]

Well I'm definitely nervous and the line up isn't what I was hoping for but let's just wish for the best. Got to trust Ten Hag.