Former England striker and pundit Darren Bent has made his prediction ahead of Arsenal vs Manchester United.
Arsenal welcome old rivals Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. It will be a fiercely contested fixture which both sides will be desperate to win.
The home advantage is with the Gunners. However, Arsenal dropped points on their own patch against Fulham last time out, and have a nasty habit of conceding early goals when they play in front of their own fans.
Mikel Arteta needs to ensure that his team are defensively solid from the off if they are going to get a positive result against the Red Devils. At the other end of the pitch, the Spanish coach will fancy the chances of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard up against the visitors’ defence.
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Darren Bent certainly believes the Gunners are right to approach this game in a confident mood. When asked on TalkSport if he believes Manchester United have any chance of beating Arsenal, he replied, “No. Not at the Emirates, no, because you lot are appalling away from home.”
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However, Bent did concede that Erik ten Hag’s team does include some quality players. He said, “out of your players, you know who worries me the most?…[Bruno] Fernandes…He can just do something…Bruno worries me.” The Portuguese playmaker has certainly had some good days against Arsenal in the past.
Bent is convinced that the hosts will win though, and when asked for a final score, he confidently predicted a “3-1” finish in favour of Arsenal.
Arsenal will know that defeat could see them potentially fall behind Manchester City by a margin of five points with just four games played. Of course, it’s still extremely early in the season, and they still have to play Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions twice in the Premier League, but Arteta will still be keen to establish a strong early pace.
For Arsenal fans, victory over Manchester United is always something to celebrate and savour. The Gunners could make a real statement of intent with a convincing win this weekend. Arteta will know it won’t come easily, though, and they will have to work hard to keep the likes of Fernandes and Marcus Rashford quiet.