Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday he hoped to celebrate his 100th game in charge of the club with a victory, but is well aware of the threat posed by old rivals Arsenal, reports Reuters.
Solskjaer faced questions about his position following this month’s 6-1 Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur but his team have since won three of their last four games in domestic and European competition to silence the critics.
“Arsenal is always going to be difficult, because they’re a very good team with a good manager who has got some great ideas on how football should be played and I’m looking forward to it,” Solskjaer told reporters ahead of Sunday’s game.
“Surprised it’s 100 games, it’s gone really quickly even though a lot has happened, so let’s hope I can celebrate number 100 with a good performance and a good result. I’ve enjoyed it so far.” Solskjaer rested key players in Wednesday’s 5-0 Champions League rout of Bundesliga leaders Leipzig and the Norwegian hailed his squad’s strength in depth. “At the moment, we’re looking like a Manchester United squad, I’ve got opportunities, competition for places,” Solskjaer added.
“Any successful team in the modern era of football have had the option to rest players, that’s probably the only way you can last in this most intense league in the world and also with the Champions League involved, you want to go for the trophies.
Probable starting XI of both teams
“I’ve been pleased with the response after what we did early on in the season, we knew we had to hang in early on and try to get points on the board because we were far behind but now we feel fit and strong and competitive in every game.”
Meanwhile, according to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, Manchester United’s forwards have forged a strong understanding that makes them a real threat in the Premier League.
Arteta said United have the options to change their style. "They create really good relationships and they're all very different. They glide together, have really good understanding and chemistry on the pitch. You can see that," Arteta told Arsenal's website on Saturday.
“Since the lockdown, Ole has managed to improve that a lot and you can see that at the end of (last) season, the amount of goals and types of goals they were scoring. They’re a threat.
“They can play two or three different formations... they’ve been changing some things because of the opponents, because of the quality of players they have and sometimes to change the game in certain moments. “We have to be prepared for that because they have that adaptability, they have a big squad and up front they have a lot of options to do different things.”
United are unbeaten in their last 13 home Premier League games against Arsenal.
“I want to believe we’re getting closer to getting the win there,” Arteta added.
“For sure our mindset is going to be to go there and win. That’s the approach we’re going to have and the gameplay we’re going to put in place.”