Having been the best of enemies during the Sir Alex Ferguson versus Arsene Wenger years or should we say Roy Keane versus Patrick Vieira era, our punters in the Football Transfer Tavern think the Manchester United against Arsenal rivalry has gone soft somewhat.
Having previously seen Martin Keown jump on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s back, Ryan Giggs gallivanting down the Villa Park touchline all hairy chested and who could forget Pizzagate, encounters between the great English duo don’t seem to have been so memorable in recent times.
All of that said of course, both sets of supporters still hold a great sense of resentment against one another in the stands and in one of the classic north versus south encounters in English football, getting the big three points is still huge in terms of prestige and bragging rights around the office come Monday morning.
We saw in the summer transfer window that both sides were eager to land a world class forward but with strikers such a rare commodity this time around, both sides struggled to land reinforcements with the Red Devils eventually having to shell out a whopping £36 million for Anthony Martial.
Both clubs won’t like hearing it but Manchester City and Chelsea’s squad still seem to be better than both the Gunners’ and Red Devils’ ranks at the moment with some squad shortfalls seemingly still apparent.
With this in mind, we’ve devised a list of five Arsenal players who could be deemed a perfect fit for Manchester United.
All metaphorical of course because otherwise, it could all kick off here by the bar!
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 Arsenal players who would be a perfect fit for Manchester United.
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Laurent Koscielny
When you list out all of Manchester United’s options at centre back right now, namely Chris Smalling, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Paddy McNair, they all fall into categories such as improving, a half measure, injury prone or a youngster.
The formidable days of the Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic partnership seem a long time ago now and with Louis van Gaal failing to have recruited either Sergio Ramos or Nicolas Otamendi this summer, centre back is still seen as a potential position of weakness for the Red Devils despite proving quite resilient in the opening games of the season.
One player who would be a perfect fit for United right now is Laurent Koscielny who has steadily become a model of consistency in the Premier League.
Brought to England from relative obscurity in France, Koscielny is now in his sixth season at Arsenal and every Gooner will tell you that when the Frenchman is missing, Arsene Wenger’s men suffer!
Petr Cech
Hold your horses; we know Manchester United still have David De Gea to come back into the fold as a world class option but you never can underestimate how much he would’ve switched off given the fact his dream Real Madrid switch didn’t come to avail.
With no precise return date yet in the calendar, Manchester United have placed new signing Sergio Romero between the sticks and if the truth be told on his performances so far, he’s ok but is nowhere near the presence of a De Gea at peak performance or this man – Petr Cech.
Following his nightmare Gunners debut against West Ham United, Cech has proved his class, most notably against Liverpool and when the window opened at the start of the summer, United were actually linked with his signature.
As the story goes however, staying in London was imperative for the former Chelsea man and Arsenal’s defensive ranks have most definitely been boosted via his arrival.
Alexis Sanchez
Quite simply, what Premier League club couldn’t do without the sheer brilliance of this man Alexis Sanchez?
One of the Premier League’s big name arrivals of last summer alongside Angel Di Maria who turned out to be a flop, Sanchez now seems an absolute steal having signed for Arsenal for £35 million and given United didn’t replace Di Maria having missed out on Pedro, the Chilean would surely be a perfect fit for United on their left or right hand side.
At present, Juan Mata has found himself on the right of a 4-2-3-1 formation under Louis van Gaal but with the Spaniard favouring the number 10 berth, Sanchez would be an ideal fit either here or rotating with Memphis Depay on the other side.
Aaron Ramsey
Now often retweeted by Arsenal fans who use the story as means to poke fun at Manchester United supporters who thought they had their hands on Aaron Ramsey back in 2008, the Red Devils agreed a fee for the then Cardiff City man back seven years ago now.
Make no mistake; United have drastically moved to improve their options in central midfield this summer having signed not only Bastian Schweinsteiger but Morgan Schneiderlin as well but if those two didn’t sign on at Old Trafford, the kind of midfielder United would’ve been after would’ve been in the Aaron Ramsey mould.
One of those midfielders who is capable of doing a little bit of everything, namely breaking up the play while producing assists and goals to boot, Ramsey was naturally a huge Ryan Giggs fan growing up as a Welshman and had he not made it at Arsenal, you could’ve easily seen him progressing at a club such as United.
That said, some of our Gooners point out that Sir Alex Ferguson may not have had the same patience and belief that Ramsey would eventually make it as Arsene Wenger did however and that’s probably a good point to make.
Mesut Ozil
Now seen as more of a utility member of Manchester United’s squad given the arrivals of Ander Herrera last summer and Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin this time around, it was only last season that pundits were making claims that the Red Devils weren’t as half as penetrative when Michael Carrick wasn’t around.
The England international is now something of a Premier League veteran but it was hugely noticeable how Louis van Gaal’s team wasn’t as incisive when the former West Ham United midfielder wasn’t available to thread through eye of the needle passes while quickly turning defence into attack.
While United now also boast Juan Mata who provided four Premier League assists last season, one man who has built up a reputation as an assist king in his career so far is Mesut Ozil whose skills haven’t always been appreciated so readily in this country.
Undoubtedly taking time to adjust to English football, Ozil’s influence is growing you feel and despite only trumping Mata by one more Premier League assist last term, it is often levelled at Arsenal that Ozil isn’t so effective for them because he doesn’t have the creative runs of a Karim Benzema in front of him.
Perhaps at United with the more mobile Wayne Rooney or Anthony Martial, Ozil might be more productive but this is all metaphorical of course.
