Premier League preview: Manchester United v Arsenal

Robin van Persie

We could begin by talking about the extraordinary mid-week Capital One Cup scorelines, or last season’s remarkable 8-2, but the spotlight in this fixture was always going to fall on a certain Dutch striker.

Robin van Persie might not relish the prospect of being subjected to a chorus of unpleasant chants from the south-east quadrant of Old Trafford, where several thousand scorned Arsenal fans will be seated on Saturday lunchtime, but he wouldn’t have prepared himself for anything less.

One thing’s for sure: Arsène Wenger’s pleas for calm will have fallen on deaf ears. The Frenchman urged the Gunners faithful to “respect” their former captain this weekend - though the odds of that happening are even longer than Arsenal conceding eight goals again.

It is 15 months since Wenger and his players suffered the most humiliating afternoon of their professional careers. A depleted Arsenal line-up was expected to lose on that fateful Sunday afternoon in September 2011, but nobody anticipated the north London outfit conceding eight times.

Perhaps that was the moment when Van Persie, who scored one of Arsenal’s two meaningless goals that day, realised his future lay elsewhere. His decision to move, and Manchester United’s decision to shell out £24million on the 29-year-old, continues to look shrewder with each passing match.

In every game he’s started with the Red Devils, Van Persie has either scored or provided at least one goal, and as a result he currently sits joint-top of the Premier League goalscorers chart alongside Newcastle’s Demba Ba.

Antagonising the prolific Netherlands international, then, may not be the wisest of plans that the Arsenal faithful conjure up this weekend. It could end up backfiring severely, hence Wenger’s call for the travelling supporters to leave him be.

The likelihood of Van Persie scoring in this fixture seemed inevitable even before it was confirmed that Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is - along with left-back Kieran Gibbs, midfielder Abou Diaby and forward Gervinho – not fit to feature.

The relatively inexperienced Vito Mannone will therefore start in goal for the Gunners, hoping to enjoy better luck than Szczesny did at Old Trafford last season. Not to mention better fortune than his young team-mate Damián Martinez.

The 20-year-old conceded five goals in Tuesday’s incredible Capital One Cup victory – yes, victory – over Reading; a match which at one point looked set to rival the 8-2 in the humiliation stakes for the Gunners.

But despite being 4-0 down before half-time, Arsenal rallied and produced an admirable comeback to take the game to extra time, before eventually winning the match 7-5 after 120 minutes.

The undoubted star of the show was Theo Walcott, who helped himself to a hat-trick and staked his claim for a place in the starting line-up this Saturday. The England winger is still yet to agree a new contract and could be next out the door at the Emirates Stadium – as early as January – but another impressive display might persuade Arsenal to give in to his demands.

Although Wenger fielded a team mainly comprised of fringe players and youngsters, he will have been relieved that United also went 120 minutes in their cup match against Chelsea 24 hours later.

Whereas Arsenal were buoyant at their end of their tie, though, the Red Devils were beaten 5-4 in rather gut-wrenching fashion. A last-second penalty, conceded by youngster Scott Wooten and converted by Eden Hazard, left United a little deflated, albeit still proud of their players’ efforts.

Certainly, the performances of Javier Hernandez and Anderson in particular have given United boss Sir Alex Ferguson a real selection headache. But the Scot is expected to start with the same team which beat Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge last Sunday to reduce the gap on the league-leaders to a single point.

Van Persie was largely responsible for United’s blistering start in that match, hitting the shot which cannoned in off David Luiz – via the post – after just four minutes, before getting himself on the scoresheet eight minutes later.

It’s not difficult to envisage the left-footed maestro making a similar contribution against his former employers.

Several years have passed since United and Arsenal had a blood and thunder rivalry, but with Van Persie now in the opposite camp it’s about to be reignited.

Prediction: Manchester United 3 Arsenal 1

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