\n<\/p>\n
Who:<\/strong> Manchester United vs Arsenal How to follow:<\/strong> We\u2019ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream.<\/em><\/p>\n Arsenal face an immediate test of their Premier League title credentials against a revamped Manchester United.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the game.<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta has challenged Arsenal to keep digging for gold.<\/p>\n The Gunners have finished as Premier League runners-up for the last three seasons, sparking criticism of their failure to get over the line in the title race.<\/p>\n Arsenal blew significant leads when Manchester City pipped them to the trophy in 2023 and 2024, before Liverpool left the injury-plagued north Londoners trailing in their wake last season.<\/p>\n Arsenal\u2019s title frustrations are mounting, with fans questioning whether Arteta is the right man to end their drought after winning only the 2020 FA Cup since he took charge in December 2019.<\/p>\n But the Gunners showed their potential last season, with a run to the Champions League semifinals that ended with a narrow defeat against eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n And, buoyed by a host of new signings worth more than 180 million pounds ($244 million) in total, Arteta is convinced they can finally get their hands on the Premier League silverware this season.<\/p>\n \u201cYou keep digging, digging, digging, and you have to be digging because one day the gold is going to be there,\u201d he told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cFor three seasons, we\u2019ve had more points than [nearly] any other team in this league, which is incredible.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have the consistency, but now we have to do it in a season, to end with more points than any other team.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the objective. When I\u2019ve been taught, when I\u2019ve been educated, that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n Hampered by injuries to Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz at various stages last season, Arsenal lacked a cutting edge and were held to 14 draws compared with Liverpool\u2019s nine.<\/p>\n That was a crucial edge as Arsenal finished 10 points behind the champions.<\/p>\n Arsenal\u2019s Viktor Gyokeres heads at goal during a preseason friendly against Athletic Bilbao [Matthew Childs\/Reuters]<\/p>\n In an attempt to insulate Arsenal against another fitness-related collapse, Arteta has brought in Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres, Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke and Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard.<\/p>\n After bemoaning Arsenal\u2019s failure to sign Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as Liverpool pulled away during the January window, the Spaniard is a far more upbeat figure on the eve of the new season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we have great versatility, very different qualities in relation to the opposition, so we are very happy with that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Arteta said that \u201ctoo many\u201d teams have a legitimate shot at winning the Premier League for his liking, some he even suspects will \u201csurprise everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n Whether that was a hint that United, who suffered their worst season since 1973-74 last term, could emerge as contenders after their summer spending spree remains to be seen.<\/p>\n Arsenal were linked with a move for United\u2019s new striker Benjamin Sesko before deciding to bet on Gyokeres for a fee that could rise to 66 million pounds ($89.5m).<\/p>\n The Swede netted 97 times in 102 games in two years at Sporting, much of which came under United\u2019s current manager, Ruben Amorim.<\/p>\n Manchester United\u2019s Bryan Mbeumo moved from Brentford in the summer transfer window [Andrew Boyers\/Reuters]<\/p>\n Instead of being reunited with Gyokeres, Amorim overhauled his attack with the signings of Leipzig\u2019s Sesko, Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo and Wolves forward Matheus Cunha at a combined cost of more than 200 million pounds ($271m).<\/p>\n United, who have not won the title since 2013, had to spend big to erase the stench of their putrid campaign.<\/p>\n Amorim\u2019s team finished a dismal 15th in the top-flight, and squandered a chance to qualify for the Champions League with a toothless 1-0 defeat against fellow underachievers Tottenham in the Europa League final.<\/p>\n The pressure is on Amorim, who replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, to deliver major improvements in his second season.<\/p>\n Amorim knows Sesko will be key to that target and believes the 22-year-old Slovenian is ready to rise to the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need to tell Ben, \u2018Ben, this is Manchester United, a lot of pressure. Every game is like do or die\u2019,\u201d Amorim said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is always thinking about football. He\u2019s really obsessed about that.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the 244th meeting between the clubs, with United winning 99 of those games and Arsenal winning 89.<\/p>\n The last two meetings ended in 1-1 draws, although one of those was in the FA Cup with United advancing on penalties.<\/p>\n The Red Devils have not beaten the Gunners since December 2022, a 3-1 home win lead by a Marcus Rashford double.<\/p>\n The Gunners have won four of the six following meetings.<\/p>\n Defenders Lisandro Martinez (knee) and Noussair Mazraoui (hamstring) are both injury absentees for United.<\/p>\n Joshua Zirkzee and Andre Onana have, however, both recovered from knocks and are available for selection.<\/p>\n Arteta has said that the new signings, Gyokeres and Zubimendi, are both \u201cfit to play\u201d.<\/p>\n Leandro Trossard has had a groin problem but is expected to recover in time for selection. Gabriel Jesus remains a long-term absentee with an ACL injury, but otherwise, Arteta has a full squad to choose from.<\/p>\n Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Dalot, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko<\/p>\n Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Zubimendi, Rice; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Who: Manchester United vs ArsenalWhat: English Premier LeagueWhere: Old Trafford, Manchester, United KingdomWhen: Sunday, August 16 at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) How to follow: We\u2019ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 4:30pm (15:30 GMT) in advance of our live text commentary stream. Arsenal face an immediate test of their Premier League title credentials<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[3366,1413,3504,1429,1570,150,1706,1587,1674,3677],"class_list":{"0":"post-16244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-arsenal","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-league","11":"tag-lineups","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-premier","15":"tag-start","16":"tag-teams","17":"tag-united"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
What:<\/strong> English Premier League
Where:<\/strong> Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom
When:<\/strong> Sunday, August 16 at 4:30pm (15:30 GMT)<\/p>\nHow does the season shape up for Arsenal?<\/h2>\n
Who did Arsenal sign this summer?<\/h2>\n
How is the season shaping up for Man Utd?<\/h2>\n
Head-to-head<\/h2>\n
Manchester United team news<\/h2>\n
Arsenal team news<\/h2>\n
Manchester United predicted starting lineup<\/h2>\n
Arsenal predicted starting lineup<\/h2>\n