Arsenal Achieved, Manchester United Only Rely On History

Arsenal were seeded against Manchester United in the English Premier League big match at Old Trafford. (X/@Arsenal)

JAKARTA - Arsenal are more favored even though they have to play away matches against one of Manchester United's arch rivals in the English Premier League at Old Trafford Stadium, Sunday, March 9, 2025 evening WIB. However, manager Mikel Arteta did not underestimate MU, which he said had a great history.

Arsenal are chasing victory at Old Trafford. It doesn't matter if MU has ambitions to get up and wants to get out of the lower zone. Arsenal has set a three-point target to keep the competition with Liverpool fighting for the Premier League title.

Yes, Arsenal have lost a lot of points, including being humiliated by West Ham United 1-0 at home at the Emirates. Next, they drew goalless against Nottingham Forest.

Even though they are still in second place, the Gunners, who have only played 27 matches in the competition, are 13 points behind Liverpool. Meanwhile, Liverpool have played 28 times.

Only Arsenal had very good capital before visiting the Red Devils headquarters in the big match in the Premier League. They won a big 7-1 win against Feyennoord in the first match of the Champions League last 16 in the middle of this week. A win that opened up opportunities for Martin Odegaard to qualify for the quarter-finals. The reason is, in the second match at home, Arsenal only needed a draw to get rid of Feyenoord.

This makes it easier for Arteta troops to focus on facing MU before meeting Feyenoord again, Thursday, March 13, 2025 in the morning WIB. They are also predicted to be able to overcome Ruben Amorim's team.

Moreover, MU no longer has a guarantee of winning despite playing at home. Finally, they were humiliated by Fulham on penalties in the FA Cup.

MU's performance has not improved. After losing against Fulham, they also failed to win against Real Sociedad in the first match of the last 16 of the Europa League. The poor result made the diplomatic performance that replaced Erik ten Hag began to be questioned. Although still surviving, Amorim remains in the shadow of his dismissal.

Only Arteta still does not underestimate MU, who is currently slumped in rank 14. The position is like heaven and earth because Arsenal is already 21 points ahead. Meanwhile, MU was even threatened with relegation.

"Sejarah United sudah bicara," kata Arteta yang gagal membawa Arsenal bersaing dengan MU saat masih menjadi pemain. Dia baru bisa memberi trofi untuk Arsenal, yaitu Piala FA dua kali dan Community Shield dua kali setelah MU diberikan manajer legender Sir Alex Ferguson.

"With the players they have and the club's ability, they can always overcome difficulties. They are still dangerous opponents, especially when you expect the opposite," he said.

According to Arteta MU, their real character in the last few matches has been shown. MU can always make a surprise by defeating superior rivals.

Even in the match against Sociedad, they should have won. Sociedad was unable to break into MU's goal despite losing main defenders Harry Maguire and Leandro Martinez.

"If you see their performances in the last few matches, you can see how the characters of their squad are. United can still show their best performance and beat you," said Arteta.

However, Arteta is optimistic that he will gain full points at home to the opponent. A brilliant victory with extraordinary performance when beating PSV became a reference if Arsenal were superior.

"We hope to repeat that great performance on Sunday's match," he said.