Arsenal told Ruben Amorim confession is as good as a surrender ahead of Man United clash

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Arsenal will face off against their old rivals Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening. 

There is a great shared history between these two giants of English football. Between them, from the late 1990s and early 2000s, they were the two dominant forces in the Premier League.

This rivalry led to a number of fiery encounters. Martin Keown recently reflected on his clashes with Manchester United. 

Now, Mikel Arteta will be preparing his Arsenal squad to go to battle with the Red Devils once again.

• READ MORE: All Mikel Arteta signings at Arsenal ranked from worst to best

Steve Nicol expects Ruben Amorim to come unstuck vs Arsenal

On this occasion, the North London club are very much the favourites heading into this fixture. Paul Merson expects Arsenal to thrash Manchester United. 

Former Liverpool star Steve Nicol is also convinced that Ruben Amorim’s side could be humiliated at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking on ESPN, he said: “I think there’s going to be plenty of goals… but there’s only going to be one team scoring the goals, that’s Arsenal. Listen, Amorim said after the game at the weekend against Everton, he said ‘it’s good to win 4-0, it’s good to score goals, but basically the truth is the opposition weren’t that great and we weren’t as good as people think we are,’ and that’s the truth.

“The way that United play is so open. Do you really want to go against Arsenal and be that open? That’s what makes me think this is going to be at least 3-0 for Arsenal.”

Key battle for Arsenal vs Man United

Whilst the likes of Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard will be expected to hurt Manchester United, the Gunners must also remain wary of the threat that the visitors pose.

Manchester United demonstrated against Everton that they can cause problems for opponents on the break and can move the ball quickly into the final third.

This means that it is vital that Arsenal’s deepest-lying midfield player is able to cover ground quickly to protect the back four, and can prevent the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford from taking a grip of the game.

Thomas Partey is a fitness doubt for this fixture, and Jorginho does not have the mobility at this stage of his career to perform this task from the off. 

As such, Declan Rice is Arteta’s best choice to ensure Arsenal win this crucial midfield battle.