By Agencies
London: Charlie Nicholas has backed Arsenal to beat Manchester United in tonight’s fixture at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have had a string of poor results in the past couple of months which is why they are now 12th in the Premier League table. Arsenal ended 2019 with a 1-2 defeat against Chelsea at the Emirates and begin 2020 against Manchester United at the same venue tonight.
The club hasn’t won a single home Premier League fixture since October 6 but Nicholas feels that his former club can beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. In his column for Sky Sports, the Scotsman wrote: “I cannot give up on them, but Arsenal can’t buy a win at the moment, although it does seem more promising. There is more fight in there, no confidence, but there is a shape and a tendency to go and try to squeeze the ball.
“Chelsea are good at keeping it, but they have not quite got the balance of attack right. Mesut Ozil is playing better, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is still scoring goals and Bukayo Saka has been class at left-back despite being an attacker. You cannot plan for the Bernd Leno howler, but the defence was better but still vulnerable, as were the midfield protectors.
“Man Utd are getting good results, while the counter-attack is so dangerous at the Emirates. I am going to stick with Arsenal, as they can get at the full-backs and defence. It seems more pleasant to watch but the table looks awful for Arsenal. They need a win and it is not about closing the gap to the top four as that is fantasy for them this year. Mikel Arteta started with a draw and a harsh defeat so it is time for them to get a win. Man Utd will be very dangerous on the counter-attack, but Reiss Nelson has been decent, and Arteta could give Nicolas Pepe a start. He may just be ready to come and do something.”
Manchester United have been in decent form lately and given the current form of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford alone, it’ll be very difficult for Arsenal to beat them. However, the Gunners have a good bunch of players and provided there aren’t any slip-ups, they could well secure the three points tonight.
This would be the perfect occasion for Arsenal to register their first win under Mikel Arteta. If the Red Devils triumph, they could be just one point behind fourth-placed Chelsea provided the latter loses against Brighton today.