Manchester United will go into the game against Arsenal knowing that they need a win. Otherwise, Ralf Rangnick will have a big mountain to climb, when he does eventually make it to the Old Trafford dug out. As things stand, the Gunners already have a five point lead over the Red Devils and they need to keep that gap as small as possible, as the two Premier League giants might end up getting caught up in a top four race against each other this season.
The selection against Arsenal was always going to be interesting after Michael Carrick changed his system in the previous game against Chelsea in order to gain control in the middle of the park.
This time around though, he has gone back to the tried and tested formation that Manchester United have used for a while now.
There were a few surprises to say the least though. Harry Maguire has immediately returned to the heart of the defence. But the big one is Diogo Dalot starting in place of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Manchester United tweeted out the line up:
🥁 Presenting the United line-up for #MUNARS...
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 2, 2021
Let's go, Reds! 🔴⚪️⚫️#MUFC
Dalot starts for Manchester United with Wan-Bissaka not in squad
Wan-Bissaka has not been in the best of form recently and even conceded the penalty against Chelsea. But he is not even on the bench. Thus, one can only hope that the right-back has not picked up an injury.
Wan-Bissaka is a very important part of this Manchester United team and has been the regular at right-back since he has joined.
On the other hand, this is a great opportunity for Dalot to show what he can do. The Portuguese international has impressed in recent times but has not received a lot of opportunities at Old Trafford.
The selection of Maguire is also interesting, considering how well Manchester United did defensively against Chelsea.