Manchester United endured a terrible start to the season. They lost 2-1 at Old Trafford to Brighton & Hove Albion in the opening game and were comfortably outplayed by Graham Potter’s side. In the next game, they were absolutely destroyed 4-0 by Brentford. It is safe to say that things were not going the Red Devils’ way.
Since then, Erik ten Hag’s side have managed to turn their season around though, with three wins on the trot, against Liverpool, Southampton and Leicester City.
Those results mean that Manchester United are ahead of the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League table, and the club have recently pulled off some magnificent moves for Casemiro and Antony. Thus, things are looking up for the club moving forward.
It was not always the case though, especially after the defeat against Brentford. There were reports that Ten Hag was furious and called his players in the following day for a 13.8 km run, the same distance that the Bees had managed to cover more than them. In many ways, that has proven to be a turning point though. As reported by Metro, Jadon Sancho said:
"‘We had to do it. We shouldn’t have been losing like that.‘Everyone just took it as extra running and more fitness and after that we just got on with it. We felt we just had to wake up after the Brentford game and we have three wins in a row now, so we have to keep it up and get more wins.’"
Sancho reveals how Manchester United rediscovered their form after Brentford defeat
Manchester United might have gotten three wins in a row, after a long, long time, but it is safe to say that the sides that they have beaten till now have not been in top form themselves.
Next time around, they will be coming up against an Arsenal side, who are flying high and currently sit atop the Premier League table, having won all five of their games till now. Thus, this will be a much more difficult task for the Red Devils.
If they are able to take anything out of this game though, one would have to consider that Manchester United are well and truly back in form, and genuine contenders for a top four finish this season.