Manchester United vs Arsenal: 3 Players Ruled Out of Spicy First Game of the Season
- The Manchester United vs Arsenal game on Sunday evening will be without three key players as both sides aim for a perfect start
- Ruben Amorim and Mikel Arteta will go head-to-head, boosted by the arrival of their new strikers, Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres
- This fixture ended in a draw last season, with the Gunners winning the reverse game at the Emirates 2-0
Three players have been ruled out of the highly anticipated clash between Manchester United and Arsenal on August 17.
Source: Getty Images
The two teams will get their 2025/2026 Premier League campaign underway when they face each other at Old Trafford on Sunday evening.
It is set to be a blockbuster tie as both teams pursue different targets after underwhelming seasons last time out.
The hosts will be out to ensure that they massively improve on their 15th-place finish, while Arsenal will be hoping to finally go one better and win the league after three consecutive second-place finishes.
Both sides have had adequate time to prepare for the game, including high-quality pre-season games.
United won the Premier League Summer Series in the United States, while the Gunners played, among others, their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur.
Ruben Amorim and Mikel Arteta faced the media on Friday to discuss their expectations for the season and team news for the game.
For United, Andre Onana is back and could be in contention to start after missing the whole pre-season with a hamstring injury.
However, Amorim will have to do without defensive pair Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez. The latter is still nursing a long-term injury after tearing his ligaments last season, while Mazraoui picked up a thigh injury.
"Nous and Licha are out. They cannot play in this game. Josh recovered, Andre recovered, they are options for this game, we will," said Amorim as quoted on the club's website.
For Arsenal, long-term absentee Gabriel Jesus will be the only miss against Manchester United. The Brazilian striker picked up an ACL injury during a game against the same opposition in January.
Leandro Trossard is also a doubt after limping off against Tottenham, but Arteta assured that he could be back in contention.
"I think he's much better. I think he will be able to train again tomorrow, and if that's the case, he will be fit," he told Arsenal's website.
How Manchester United and Arsenal could line up
Much focus will be on the two new number 9s the club has brought in this summer. The Gunners started by bringing in Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon before United followed suit, signing Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
Source: Getty Images
Both strikers are fit and in line for their Premier League debut, with Gyokeres coming up against his former manager in Portugal.
"I can just talk about Viktor and how happy we are to have him. I think he's going to have a tremendous impact on the team. The adaptation has been very, very good and we're really happy to have him," said Arteta.
The former Manchester City boss hinted that the Swede will have to fight Kai Havertz for the starting number 9 role in his team.
For Amorim, Sesko will rival Rasmus Hojlund for the starting berth with the two number 10s in his preferred formation seemingly settled.
New signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo will provide the cover, with Amad Diallo playing as one of the full-backs.
Captain Bruno Fernandes will have to drop deep to accommodate Cunha and Mbeumo.
Nigerian prophetess makes Sesko's prediction
In a related report, a Nigerian prophetess made a startling revelation about Manchester United's new striker.
United won the race to sign the Slovenian international from RB Leipzig on a five-year contract.
The prophetess made a revelation about the 22-year-old alongside former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
