Soccer Betting: Arsenal at Manchester United

It wasn’t that long ago that a Monday matchup between Arsenal and Manchester United at Old Trafford would be one of the marquee fixtures of the season. It’s still a potentially entertainment contest and a definite ‘contrast of styles’ but not what it once was. Man U hasn’t won the Premier League title since 2014 while Arsenal hasn’t finished top of the table since 2004. Both teams have been in the mix since then–Man U finished second in 2018 and Arsenal took runner up honors in 2016–but both clubs are well behind Manchester City and Liverpool in the English soccer hierarchy.

Both teams have been very uneven this season. Arsenal is at all square with Leicester City and West Ham United all with 11th points though there’s little to suggest that they have the weapons to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City. They are unbeaten in five games in all competitions winning 3 straight. They’ve had some head scratching outcomes in the first month and a half of Premier League play. No shame at all to lose at Liverpool but they definitely needed better than a home draw to the Spurs. They recently blew a 2-0 lead at lowly Watford and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. They won last time out against Aston Villa though the visitors held the lead at the half. For a team with aspirations of finishing top three sloppy play against a team at risk of relegation just won’t get it done.

Arsenal has scored 11 and conceded 10 and that type of defense simply won’t get it done at the top of the table. For this reason, manager Unai Emery might soon be on the ‘hot seat’ if he’s not already. Not sure that an elite team can ever be sloppy defensively in the Premier League but a team averaging less than 2 goals a game definitely can’t afford poor backline play.

Manchester United is fortunate in 8th place with 8 points after an erratic start to the season. They’ve been extremely uneven to date–they’ve won only 1 of their last 5 since the opening day rout of Chelsea. They followed that up with a 1-1 away draw at Wolverhampton, a 2-1 home loss to Crystal Palace and a 1-1 away draw at Southampton. They took a hard fought 1-0 home win against Leicester City in their last action at Old Trafford but immediately turned around and lost 2-0 at West Ham United. Working in their favor, Manchester United has been very solid defensively allowing just six goals. The problem is that they’ve scored only 8.

This is an important game for both sides. Both realize the importance of staying in striking distance of the top of the table teams. Man U’s offense took a big hit with Marcus Rashford out meaning they’ll need to focus more on keeping Arsenal out of their net. The result will be a tightly contested and methodical game. The strengths and weaknesses of these teams really cancel each other out so we’ll take a flyer on the draw.

BET MANCHESTER UNITED/ARSENAL DRAW +220
BET MANCHESTER UNITED/ARSENAL UN 2.5, 3 +100

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