The arrival of Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday is now the first of two guaranteed meetings between the two sides this season in north London. Arsenal drew their old rivals in the FA Cup and will face them on the weekend of January 11/12, with the date and time yet to be confirmed.
Yet this league game arguably comes with far greater importance for both sides as they chase their aims in the Premier League, with European places and a title race still on the line. Mikel Arteta and Ruben Amorim have met before when Arsenal tussled and lost out to Sporting CP in the Europa League last season.
While Arteta has dismissed any chance of this being a shot at revenge, getting a first win over the new United coach will be a big plus. With that said, football.london rounds up the three major benefits the Gunners get from overcoming the Red Devils from title implications to longer term effects
Keep up the pressure
While Arsenal would certainly prefer to have the lead in the race and have their own destiny in their hands, it has reached a stage where they can and should only be focusing on themselves. Nine points is the gap to a Liverpool side who themselves have a tough test in a trip to St. James' Park.
Arne Slot's side kick-off 45 minutes before the Gunners with their result, therefore, being known around an entire half earlier. Whatever the scoreline, Arsenal need to keep their winning formula alive as it feels like the next slip-up could be terminal for their title hopes.
Interrupt the momentum
When a new manager comes in, the boost it can give a team is almost unexplainable at times. Clubs have seen major initial boosts which have either been built on for the long term, as with Unai Emery at Aston Villa, for example, or go the other way and after a quick hit a slump returns like Everton and Sean Dyche.
Hitting this early encouragement at Manchester United after back-to-back wins would be an enjoyable and yet beneficial reward for the Gunners. With the likes of Liverpool, Man City and perhaps Chelsea to focus on, Arsenal do not need another contender in the mix so the hope is they can end their opponent’s dreams now.
Downhill from here
There are no easy games in the Premier League but there are easier games than others. December is a month which sees Arsenal not leave the capital whatsoever, and won’t do until they go to Brighton in the New Year.
Should Arsenal claim a win against Manchester Utd, who on paper at least are their toughest opposition, it could be the continuation of a run which has quite the reward if it is kept going. Were the Gunners to win every game until the end of the year, despite Liverpool’s lead, compared to last season they would have dropped at least five fewer points.
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