Although it still quite rightly a huge game for both sets of supporters, our resident Arsenal and Manchester United fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern agree that games between the pair have lost the spark and nastiness that made them such engrossing encounters in recent times.
The fact of the matter is that the fixture has lost the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Martin Keown and without these characters, this Premier League rivalry has somewhat gone soft on the field.
Off the pitch, the rivalry is still as intense as ever – our landlord can you assure you of that – with the Gunners having taunted our United regulars that they went trophyless under Louis van Gaal last season while Arsene Wenger’s men of course claimed the FA Cup and managed to shake off the fourth place tag that United now possess.
Both the Gunners and Red Devils know that they have to strengthen their ranks this summer in an attempt to get closer to Premier League victors Chelsea who for large periods of last season simply looked unbeatable.
What both sets of supporters here in the tavern both see eye to eye on however is the fact that they could both do with a striker, another midfielder, a centre back and possibly even a goalkeeper each.
With so much strengthening to complete this summer, it is inevtable that the clubs may be trailing after the same targets.
Keeping along this theme, we’ve identified five transfer targets who Arsenal and Manchester United will be fighting over this summer.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 players Arsenal and Manchester United will fight over this summer.
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Alexandre Lacazette
A good analogy that has been made by some punters of late in the bar is that Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette can be considered the French Harry Kane.
The pair are the same in respect of the fact that they both enjoyed a truly scintillating breakthrough year this past season with Kane having struck 21 goals in the Premier League while French international Lacazette registered a fantastic haul of 27.
It comes as no surprise then that seemingly all of Europe is chasing after the signature of Lacazette with Arsenal and Manchester United no exceptions.
One of the recent headlines posted by the Daily Star was that Lacazette fancies a move to Old Trafford over all other destinations but since then, the same publication has claimed he is set to agree a five-year deal with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
With Lacazette yet to taste life outside of Ligue 1, the majority of punters claim a PSG switch is the most likely and most sensible for the player but we reckon this story has some legs left in it yet.
Watch this space.
Luiz Gustavo
Arsenal have previously been rejected by Brazilian international Luiz Gustavo in that ever so frustrating summer transfer window of 2013 where it took Arsene Wenger so long to make any squad reinforcements, only to wow everybody in signing Mesut Ozil on deadline day.
But fast forward to 2015 and the Gunners are in the same predicament somewhat and still chasing after more defensive midfield reinforcements despite the emergence of Francis Coquelin the holding role.
Gustavo of course rejected Arsenal for current club Wolfsburg after departing Bayern Munich but the speculation has picked up again recently regarding another transfer for the Brazilian.
The transfer speculation seems quite strange considering Wolfsburg are going places and have qualified for the Champions League next season but Metro claims Manchester United are looking at the player to be Michael Carrick’s long-term successor at Old Trafford.
With Arsenal still being credited with an interest, this will be one to watch but with a £33 million release clause to meet, punters aren’t sure if the player is worth that much.
Petr Cech
All the transfer speculation seems to point towards the Chelsea goalkeeper joining Arsenal this summer but Manchester United are still being mooted as a potential destination for the Czech Republic international.
The player himself has directly alluded to the fact that staying in London in his preference this summer with the stumbling block of having to move his family and children into new schools handing a blow to United’s hopes of potentially capturing Cech as a replacement for the outgoing David De Gea.
With Cech having mentioned that he will be deciding his future next week, perhaps a clearer idea of where he will be ending up will be revealed then but in a comical twist of events on Twitter last night, a rather eager Arsenal fan faked a tweet concerning Cech, only for the goalkeeper to reply himself.
“@MazyMesut: Look what @PetrCech just tweeted before deleting. Unreal #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/vc0TTYRBAR” And you think people believe it 🙈
— Petr Cech (@PetrCech) June 10, 2015
Now while you’d be rather foolish to think one tweet from a fanatical individual may be enough to scupper a deal taking place, this hasn’t stopped some United fans remaining hopeful.
Morgan Schneiderlin
For most neutrals in the tavern, they believed that the transfer of Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin to Arsenal this summer was nothing short of a formality; it would just be the case of agreeing a suitable fee with Ronald Koeman’s Saints.
However, the Gunners’ interest in the French international has cooled somewhat in recent weeks with more headlines linking Arsenal to Monaco’s Geoffrey Kondogbia rather than the Saints’ prized asset.
At the same time, Manchester United have been credited with more of a firm interest in Schneiderlin by the likes of the Daily Mail who recently claimed that the positive relations between both clubs will be enough to see a deal completed.
Luke Shaw joined United from Saints last summer in a relatively straightforward deal and if these relations haven’t been exaggerated, perhaps it is indeed the Red Devils who will be landing Schneiderlin after all.
As mentioned, the Frenchman looks a perfect fit for Arsenal but with the Gunners having got the best out of Francis Coquelin of late, it is a striker they are prioritising over another defensive midfielder.
Gonzalo Higuain
The name ‘Gonzalo Higuain’ brings up bad memories for Arsenal fans considering they believed a deal to sign the Argentine was all done and dusted back in that unbearable summer transfer window of 2013.
The Gunners did of course end up with Mesut Ozil but again, they didn’t go out and secure that world class striker which Higuain undoubtedly is.
The Argentine of course joined Napoli instead of the Gunners from Real Madrid but fast forward to 2015 and the striker is reportedly looking for a way out of Stadio San Paolo.
With Rafael Benitez having departed to manage Real Madrid, it is fully expected that Higuain will be on the move too and The Express boast the latest on the future of the player with reports now claiming that it is indeed Arsenal who are favourites to sign him again and not Manchester United who had reportedly agreed terms a few days ago.
Higuain is one of those players where the transfer speculation often borders on the unbearable. I mean, in a few days he has agreed terms with United only for Arsenal to be the favourites again.
On this one, I would suggest Arsenal and United fans ignore all speculation until he is actually spotted in the flesh either at Carrington or London Colney!
