“He’s the only player my entire squad are always scared to play against but this time around, I may be forced to sell any player who refused to handle him…We must win this match”: Erik Ten Hag warns Man United players ahead of a ‘must win match’ against Arsenal tonight

Arsenal lost 26 players to departure during the summer. 16 were loaned out, 2 were given away for free, and 8 were given away for a price.

We should therefore anticipate more than the 26 from the previous year when we read in the Guardian this summer that “Arsenal start to shed their academy graduates as the stakes are raised.”

However, from what we can tell so far, three players have left on loan, four have departed on a free agent, two have been released, and one player—Mika Biereth—has left for a fee. Only Reuell Walters, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Omari Benjamin, and Arthur Okonkwo are going who have completed their education at the institution.

Thus, four alumni of the academy have left. Does the headline “Arsenal start to shed their academy graduates” actually convey that message? Of course, there might be a lot more, but academy graduates typically depart, so the statement “Arsenal start to shed…” isn’t really accurate in describing the minuscule number of people who have left thus far.

As usual, a headline writer seizes the opportunity to discredit Arsenal by creating a misleading impression. Out of the 18 players in the Arsenal Academy roster, 22 percent are departing. Though I’m sure the number is significantly higher in many clubs, the title “start to shed…” is not used.

One thing we know for certain is that Manchester United will invest financial resources to try and make up some of the 29 points and 63 goal differential that separated them from Arsenal in the previous campaign. In actuality, they have already paid almost £88 million for Lille defender Leny Yoro and £36.5 million for Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee.

Manchester United has so far defeated Rangers and lost to Rosenborg on the pitch. As you are aware, Arsenal has previously faced Bournemouth.

Arsenal’s injury-affected players Kieran Tierney, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Aaron Ramsdale, Bukayo Saka, David Raya, Declan Rice, and William Saliba will not play in this match.

This implies that Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli could be utilised as replacements if they are healthy.

Arsenal’s suffering provides us with a possible lineup of

Hein

Zinchenko, White, Timber, Kiwior

Odegaard, Jorginho, and Partey

Trossard, Jesus, and Nelson

“Arsenal have a great record against Man United,” as the pain in the Arsenal tells us, but as we’ve previously highlighted, it really only holds true for the last 11 encounters, in which Arsenal has won seven, lost two, and tied two. It was not at all as cheerful before that.

Sports Mole predicts a 1-1 draw and comes in a few different forms.

Hein

Zinchenko, Kiwior, White, Timber;

Odegaard, Jorginho, and Thomas;

Trossard, Jesus, and Viera