One “really good” player is set for a return as Manchester United welcome Arsenal to Old Trafford amid a surprise admission about the Europa League from Rúben Amorim.
Manchester United return to Premier League action on Sunday afternoon as they welcome Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal to Old Trafford.
Rúben Amorim’s side were last in action midweek, drawing 1-1 against Real Sociedad in San Sebastián. Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring, but a controversial penalty decision saw the hosts equalise.
United have already faced Arsenal twice this season. The Gunners won 2-0 at the Emirates in December, but Amorim’s men responded in the FA Cup, winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw in January.
Now, with Arsenal visiting Old Trafford for the first time under Amorim, the Portuguese coach will be eager to maintain his strong record against Arteta and build momentum for the final stretch of the season.
Lewis-Skelly set for Arsenal return
Due to injuries, Arsenal boss Arteta has had to rely on the club’s Academy production line to fill the gaps, and two standout players who have broken through are Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.
However, Lewis-Skelly has been surrounded by controversial moments of late and was served with a red card against West Ham last month after denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity during the club’s 1-0 loss in the London derby.
The 18-year-old was therefore handed a one-game domestic ban, which he served during Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against Nottingham Forest, and he is now set to return to Arteta’s Premier League squad following this.
Lewis-Skelly, who former Premier League striker Troy Deeney feels is “really good,” was taken off after just 35 minutes against PSV Eindhoven on the weekend after he was almost shown a red card, but with not many other options available, Arteta looks likely to start the player at Old Trafford.
Amorim’s surprise Europa League admission
Ahead of the Arsenal game, Amorim was asked if he feels this upcoming tie against Arsenal was the “worst possible” game to be met with following tough fixtures against Fulhm and Real Sociedad in the last week.
Amorim agreed with this assessment before making the surprise admission that he sees the Europa League as a harder competition to be in compared to the Champions League due to the lack of rest and recovery it gives squads.
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“Yeah, any fixture. In the Premier League, every game is really important. In our moment, we need to win. It’s always a problem when we don’t win so we have to focus on everything at the same time.
“I think the biggest problem is to not have all of the players because, in the beginning, people talk about our rotation – especially in Europe, we are changing all the time.
“It’s because of this because it’s really hard and the Europa League is so much harder, in my opinion, than the Champions League. Not the games but the recovery to play Premier League on the weekend, so we have to deal with that.”
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