Arsenal vs Manchester United
Football fans over in Los Angeles are in for a huge treat as Arsenal and Manchester United convene in the SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, for their Club Friendly clash this Saturday evening.
This game is part of Arsenal and Manchester United’s ongoing United States preseason tour as both teams prepare for the 2024-25 Premier League season that’s just on the horizon.
Building up fitness and figuring out the right lineups are the main objectives for both Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag, although the end result is also as important to help build their confidence.
The pre-game SBOTOP Club Friendly 2024 odds expect Arsenal and Manchester United to create a ton of Club Friendly 2024 highlights, especially with both teams welcoming back some of their returning players.
Talking Points
Key returns for Arsenal
Arsenal opened their 2024 preseason tour with a penalty shootout win against Bournemouth after a 1-1 draw in regulation on Thursday.
Fabio Vieira opened the scoring for the Gunners in the 18th minute, but Antoine Semenyo pushed the match to the penalty shootout after scoring the equaliser during the 73rd minute.
In the sudden death, Martin Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho, Gabriel Jesus, and Jakub Kiwior converted all of their spot-kicks (with only Leandro Trossard missing) for Arsenal, while Antoine Semenyo, Dango Ouattara, Adam Smith, and Daniel Jebbison scored for Bournemouth (with Philip Billing and Ryan Christie missing).
The Gunners were without a host of first-team players because of an extended break following their exploits at Euro 2024 and the Copa America, such as Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Aaron Ramsdale, David Raya, William Saliba, Gabriel, and Kai Havertz.
Mikel Arteta had a makeshift starting lineup of young and experienced players against Bournemouth, with Ben White, Thomas Partey, Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah, Jurrien Timber, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, Ayden Heaven, Karl Hein, and Salah-Eddine Oulad M’Hand.
But one of the standout performers for Arsenal was Jurrien Timber, who only made his return in the final game last season due to a devastating ACL injury.
The 23-year-old centre-back played with ferocity and looked spry against the Cherries. Timber should provide competition against Gabriel, William Saliba, and Riccardo Calafiori at the centre-back position.
While all of this is happening, Arsenal will continue to listen to transfer offers for Emile Smith Rowe, as he is no longer part of Arteta’s long-term project.
Yoro doing well at Manchester United
Manchester United, on the other hand, returned to winning ways by defeating Rangers 2-0 at Murrayfield on Saturday following their 1-0 defeat against Rosenborg.
The Red Devils saw youngsters Amad Diallo and Joe Hugill find the back of the net. The match also marked the debut of their second marquee signing, Leny Yoro.
Yoro’s signing had Manchester United supporters hyped, and he was unflappable against Rangers.
Leny Yoro made a crucial intervention to save a certain goal after Cyriel Dessers got past everyone in the 10th minute.
18 minutes later, the former Lille star showed off his ball handling skills when the 18-year-old looked comfortable bringing the ball up 50 yards over the halfway line.
Leny Yoro looks mature beyond his years, and Manchester United will need him next season, especially after losing Raphael Varane to free agency.
Fellow summer signing Joshua Zirkzee has yet to make his Red Devils debut, and he didn’t travel with the squad because he’s taking a break after playing for the Netherlands in Euro 2024.
History
Arsenal and Manchester United are coming off contrasting campaigns in 2023-24. The Gunners finished second in the Premier League table, falling short behind Manchester City, while the Red Devils endured their worst-ever Premier League finish in eighth place.
However, the ironic part is that Arsenal never won a single trophy, while Manchester United won the FA Cup. Erik ten Hag’s men were essentially the fifth-place team since they secured a Europa League spot because of this.
Believe it or not, Erik ten Hag has already won more trophies (2) in his first two seasons at Manchester United than Mikel Arteta has in five seasons at Arsenal (1).
Arsenal won all of their matchups against Manchester United last term, winning 3-1 at Emirates Stadium in September 2023 and 1-0 at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture in May 2024.
But overall, Manchester United hold a huge advantage over Arsenal in their all-time head-to-heads. In their 240 meetings before this weekend, the Red Devils recorded 101 wins, while the Gunners had 89 victories along with 50 draws.
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