Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand is expecting a stalemate when his former club play Arsenal in their opening Premier League fixture this weekend.
Having been a player for the Red Devils for so many years, Ferdinand was never going to predict that Ruben Amorim’s side would lose the first game of the season, especially at Old Trafford, but he doesn’t feel they will have enough to secure all three points:
“I’m going draw, I’m going to go score draw, 1-1.”
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If that scoreline ends up being accurate, it would be the exact same result as the corresponding fixture last campaign when Declan Rice cancelled out a goal from captain Bruno Fernandes.
Man United v Arsenal team news
Andre Onana is hoping to be fit for Sunday’s match. The Cameroon international has been sidelined with a hamstring injury for several weeks but he has been pictured back in training.
Joshua Zirkzee is also a doubt. Like Onana, he has been seen on the training pitch, but the striker has not played in preseason due to a knock.
Noussair Mazraoui has already been ruled out with a hamstring strain, while Lisandro Martinez is not expected to return from an ACL injury for at least a couple of months.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have welcomed back the likes of Riccardo Calafiori, Jurrien Timber and Gabriel from injury over the last couple of weeks.
The trio have missed some pre-season fixtures, but they were all in starting eleven for the last friendly against Athletic Bilbao last weekend.
Leandro Trossard picked up an issue against Tottenham last month, but manager Mikel Arteta says he is confident that the Belgian will be fit for the trip to Manchester:
“I think he’s going to be [OK] in a few days, yeah, a little niggle in the groin, but he should be fine.”
Gabriel Jesus is the only player to be completely ruled out. Like Martinez, the Brazilian is still in rehab, having suffered an ACL injury at the start of this year.
Read more about the Manchester United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here