Premier League
United superstars vs City team ethic: How the 186th Manchester derby will be won
Man City take their pure co-operative team to take on Manchester United’s superstar tendency in the 186th meeting of the two clubs.
The two teams heading into the 186th Manchester derby are both riven with contradictions that it makes the season ahead wholly unpredictable.
Manchester United are a team of individual talents who have become reliant on the one individual who, more than any other, makes them weaker as a team.
Manchester City are a team in the purest sense of the word but who, when push comes to shove, have shown the need for a goalscorer, missing the individuality of Sergio Aguero.
Never in the history of this grand old game have the two sides been such polar opposites, in terms of their approach to the football they play.
The Blues have been winning games, and occasionally losing them, this season, because they failed to land a proven goalscoring striker in the summer.
United have been winning some, and losing some, precisely because they did.
It is not entirely unprecedented. In fact, United have won three of the last four derbies, against a patently superior City team, simply because their individuals shone on the day, and City’s team system malfunctioned.
It is just that now the Reds have the ultimate individual in Cristiano Ronaldo, a player who lets others do the donkey work and then justifies that by sticking the ball in the net.
City had a brief dalliance with the notion of signing Ronaldo in the summer, although large sections of their support were solidly against it, partly because they learned to loathe the preening superstar in his first spell at Old Trafford, but also because his brand of ‘me-me’ football is the complete antithesis of everything Pep Guardiola has built at City.
Guardiola’s opinions on whether the Blues should have signed the Portugal ace are closely guarded, but it is easy to imagine he was sorely conflicted — knowing that having no proven goalscorers would impede City this season, but also knowing that a player like Ronaldo could disrupt the smooth running of his beautiful Blue machine.
The thought of him trying to persuade 36-year-old Ronaldo to tear up his script and knuckle down to some serious pressing and approach work. as Guardiola did with Sergio Aguero, is enough to make any supporter shudder.
But the fact is, as the Old Trafford clash approaches, if City play to their full capacity, the only thing that would stop them winning the game is failing to finish the chances they create.
It has happened plenty of times this season — Tottenham, Southampton, Paris St Germain, West Ham, Crystal Palace — and they have found it tough against teams that sit in, defend hard, and seek to counter with pace.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not come across as one of the game’s great tactical thinkers. But he will have recognised that his team were walloped by Liverpool because they tried to change overnight from a team that needs to dig in against superior outfits, rather than fall into the trap of trying to get in the faces of better players.
Their attempts to press Liverpool high left them wide open — and in the unlikely event that they repeat that mistake, a repeat scoreline could be on the cards against City.
United are far more likely to revert to the approach that has seen them defy the odds and rack up three wins and a draw in the last four Premier League derbies.
They will do what Palace did, defend deep and with strict discipline, and then seek to release the pace and talents of Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani with swift counters.
The United “DNA”, we are told, is about attacking football — the Stretford End have never replaced their old “Attack, attack, attack!” chant with one that nervously requests “Adopt a low block, keep the full-backs tucked in and defend the crosses!”
They tried to indulge that against Liverpool and were exposed and ruthlessly punished. They will have learned a hard lesson and will have to play as the underdogs, rather than try to match City for quality across the pitch.
City’s task is to do the opposite — to stick to their usual game plan, stifling the opposition, pinning them back with pressing that appears frenetic but is actually highly drilled — as they did against Chelsea.
That is what the Blues need. In recent games they have allowed the intensity and organisation of their press to drop a level, and it has cost them.
Their problem is that the game falls within the 72-hour shadow following the Brugge game, in which sports science dictates that a player’s physical and mental recovery is incomplete.
That will partly be offset by the return of rested players like Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Ruben Dias, but key players in the regaining and retention of the ball like Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Phil Foden will be asked to go again.
If City get that aspect of their game right, as they did at Stamford Bridge, and take the chances that come their way, they should win the game.
United by contrast, will rely on being able to soak up the pressure, release their match-winners, and then hope that individuals — and Ronaldo in particular — can be as ruthless as he has in the last few weeks.
-MEN
New signing Matthijs de Ligt grabbed his first goal for Manchester United while Marcus Rashford scored for the first time since March in a 3-0 Premier
League victory at Southampton on Saturday after a shaky start to the season.
Alejandro Garnacho added a late goal for Erik ten Hag’s side who started the day 14th in the standings after back-to-back losses. They now have six points from four matches while newly promoted Southampton remain without a point.
Southampton dominated early on but squandered a chance to take the lead in the 34th minute after United goalkeeper Onana saved Cameron Archer’s poor penalty, sparking an immediate shift in momentum at St Mary’s Stadium.
A minute later, De Ligt headed in a sumptuous ball from Bruno Fernandes after Christian Eriksen’s short corner.
“I think if you get three points from three games it’s not enough so there was some pressure, but I think today we played very well,” said De Ligt, a summer signing from Bayern Munich.
Rashford, who had gone 13 games without a goal, then ended his drought when he was left unmarked on the edge of the box to bend a diagonal shot in the far corner in the 41st.
Ten Hag had been criticised for starting Rashford but he has stuck by the much-maligned 26-year-old — who had not found the back of the net since United’s 2-0 win over Everton on March 9 — saying pre-game that Rashford needed only a goal or an assist and “then he will fly”.
“It’s very important,” the Dutchman said after the win. “It is so huge for him, for every striker, when the season starts you want to be on the scoring list. Now he has his first, I’m sure more will come.”
Archer’s penalty miss spoiled a stellar first league start for Southampton’s Tyler Dibling. The 18-year-old, who had scored for England’s Under-19 side in a loss to Germany four days earlier, drew the penalty when he dribbled at Diogo Dalot only to be taken down by the defender in the box.
That was the turning point, as the hosts were almost immediately punished for the miss but goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale tipped a low shot from Joshua Zirkzee just wide of the net.
“It was a turning point for us,” Onana said. “I’m happy for the guys, we had a great game, now we move on.”
What started as a solid afternoon for Southampton had a wretched ending as Russell Martin’s side failed to register a shot after the missed penalty and were reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when defender Jack Stephens was sent off for a high tackle on Garnacho.
The Argentine forward smashed the ball in with almost the last kick of the game to seal the win for the visitors.
United finished with 20 shots to the home side’s six.
-Reuters
Arsenal face a daunting set of fixtures starting with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, with influential midfielders sidelined this weekend, but Mikel Arteta’s side can take heart from their recent record in north London derbies.
Having been held to a draw by Brighton & Hove Albion in their last outing, Arsenal are two points off the pace after champions Manchester City and Liverpool had perfect starts.
Letting points slip in the past two campaigns has punished Arsenal in the title race. With City and Liverpool playing on Saturday, Arsenal could potentially be staring at a five-point gap ahead of Sunday’s short trip to face their neighbours.
Arsenal will wear their away kit in the derby for the first time in 38 years due to a colour clash but two men who will not be wearing their black strip are skipper Martin Odegaard and midfield partner Declan Rice.
While Odegaard is out for several weeks nursing an ankle injury sustained in Norway’s Nations League victory against Austria in midweek, Rice is suspended following a controversial red card against Brighton for kicking the ball away.
Form usually goes out of the window in north London derbies, which often produce spicy encounters, but Arsenal have had the upper hand in the last two seasons, winning three and drawing one of the last four league matches against Spurs.
The hosts also have injury worries with forwards Richarlison and Dominic Solanke plus defender Micky van de Ven missing their 2-1 loss at Newcastle United, though the latter two are expected to return.
FORCED ROTATION
With Arsenal’s midweek Champions League game at Atalanta and a trip to City the following weekend, Arteta will be forced to rotate his squad or even change his formation.
Since new signing Mikel Merino is also injured, he may have to play the versatile Kai Havertz in a deeper role. Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus has also been sidelined, while striker Eddie Nketiah moved to Crystal Palace on deadline day.
“He could play Leandro Trossard or even Raheem Sterling, but that’s a big ask for a winger to play up front at a new club,” Sky Sports pundit and former Arsenal forward Paul Merson said, adding the club should have signed another striker.
“You might get away with it for two or three games playing a false nine, but you wouldn’t want to go seven, eight, nine games with one,” he added.
The weekend kicks off with 14th-placed Manchester United looking to put their early season troubles behind them as they travel to promoted Southampton, who are without a point so far.
Erik ten Hag is in his third season as United boss but a 3-0 humbling by Liverpool — whose manager Arne Slot was taking charge of just his third game — rang alarm bells among the Old Trafford faithful although the Dutchman has the club’s backing.
Leaders City host sixth-placed Brentford, while second-placed Liverpool, the only Premier League team yet to concede a goal this season, welcome Nottingham Forest.
Ipswich Town travel to third-placed Brighton seeking a first win following their return to the top flight, while bottom side Everton, with three straight losses, travel to Aston Villa.
-Reuters
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has signed a new long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium, the Premier League title chasers announced on Sept 12.
The Gunners said in a statement that the 42-year-old Spaniard, who has reportedly agreed a three-year deal, “has been a key figure in re-establishing us as a force back at the top of English and European football”.
Arteta, who became Arsenal boss in late 2019, said he felt “extremely proud”.
“I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with good people and the ambition we have here,” he said.
“I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together.”
Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke said he was delighted with the new deal.
“Mikel is a dynamic and passionate manager, who is relentless in the pursuit of excellence,” he said.
“He has a deep understanding of Arsenal’s values, and since joining us as head coach, he has taken the team to another level in an Arsenal way.”
Arteta, who had been working as an assistant coach under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, replaced compatriot Unai Emery as Arsenal boss in December 2019.
He won the FA Cup in his first season in charge – his first silverware as a manager.
Arsenal have finished as runners-up to City in the Premier League for the past two seasons.
Last term, they went agonisingly close to lifting the trophy for the first time since 2004 before being pipped by City on the last day of the season.
Arteta’s men, who face north London rivals Tottenham on Sept 15, are currently fourth in the table after two wins and a draw.
They begin their Champions League campaign next week against Atalanta.
‘Wonderful values’
Arteta, who played 150 times for Arsenal and captained the side, called for calm in August regarding his contract situation, insisting his focus had been on the transfer window.
“We are on it and we will take care of that in the right moment,” said Arteta, who had previously been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.
“I don’t think anybody has to panic. I am in the place where I want to be and am really happy.
“Hopefully, the club thinks the same thing and the players I work with, who in my opinion are the most important ones.”
Arsenal strengthened in the summer transfer window, bringing in a clutch of players including Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori.
There are still questions over whether they have enough firepower to overhaul champions City after their failure to sign a striker to compete with inconsistent Germany forward Kai Havertz.
But Arsenal sporting director Edu has no doubts about Arteta’s ability to keep the club on course for sustained success.
“It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club and an important part of what we’re all working towards,” Edu said.
“Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values.
“We have a strong belief in what we are doing and what we want to achieve together. Mikel’s new contract gives us stability and clear direction as we aim for new heights.”
–AFP
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