Manchester United Vs. Arsenal: Samir Nasri, Nani, And The Five Match-Ups To Watch

Were you to judge Arsenal only on their words, you’d be fairly convinced the Gunners were ready for something big. Sitting in first place ahead of their annual trip to Manchester United, Arsenal has a chance to solidify their much scoffed-at title challenge, as if the criticisms of the punditry matter. If they did, the Gunners would not be in first place, still having their strengths picked apart by league followers desperate the label them mentally soft - a team that will fade. But for manager Arsene Wenger, such narratives are irrelevant when preparing his team for Monday’ match.

“We have an opportunity to show how good we are - that is what you want in life,” Wenger said, in quotes distributed on the league’s web site.

“I know that my team will be really up for it, and I always have great belief in my players - I know how hungry they are for success and am sure that will come out in the game.”

Which is not to say Arsenal hasn’t been hungry before, be it in the recent past or in bygone generations. But even during the days of undefeated seasons and league titles, Arsenal struggled at Old Trafford.

Since the league was founded in 1993, the Gunners have three wins at Manchester United, all by 1-0 scores. The last of those wins came in 2006, when Emmanuel Adebayor finished some Cesc Fàbregas magic to shock the Red Devils.

Of course, those who want to weave the narrative of a fragile Arsenal will note the Gunners collapsed later that season. They would finish fourth, 21 points behind Manchester United, even though Robin van Persie and Thierry Henry would lead the Gunners to the double over United later that season. At year’s end Henry was gone, a new era of Arsenal football had begun, one which has seen the Gunners defeat Manchester United once, being outscored 16-6 along the way.

If there’s a silver lining for Arsenal in that stretch, it’s how they got their single win. Then, Samir Nasri, making only his seventh league appearance, had a brace within 48 minutes, leading Arsenal to a 2-1 victory in November 2008. With Fàbregas unlikely to feature today (still struggling with a hamstring injury), Arsenal may need a similar performance from Nasri to replicate that victory.

The scary thing for United is that such performances are now expected. Nasri broke out (again) last weekend against Fulham, a performance that’s landed him amongst the best players in the world. It was only two years ago that the Marseille product was this frail protege Wenger’d brought over from France. Now, any discussion of individual match-ups starts with how United deals with Arsenal’s new superstar.

And so it is, as we pick out some of the individual matches to watch come the 3:00 p.m. Eastern kick-off. None of these are revelations - strikers versus central defenders, how original! - but though the position battles are the ones you’d expect, the dynamics that define them go beyond your trite battle of the midfield-type affair:

Samir Nasri vs. Darren Fletcher - Fletcher may be the player best equipped to match-up with Nasri, something Alex Ferguson is likely to do, given the role Fletcher has played against Fàbregas in recent meetings. What distinguishes Fletcher from other central midfielders is his range. Fletcher is capable of following his mark all around the pitch, something which will come in handy against Nasri, with the Arsenal midfielder assuming Fàbregas’s responsibility of dropping deep to pick up the ball. That responsibility was evident on Nasri’s second goal last week, creating the play from near the center circle, finishing the goal at the byline. Nasri won’t get such a free run of play against Fletcher, who would have been at his feet when Nasri was passed the ball.

Nani vs. Gael Clichy - Many have bemoaned Arsenal’s central defense, but Gael Clichy has been as big a problem, so much so that he is in danger of losing his left back spot to Kieran Gibbs. Imagine that: A Frenchman losing his place to a Englishman under Arsene Wenger. That underscores how much trouble Clichy has had, but with Gibbs out for near a month after turning an ankle, Clichy, himself nicked, will likely start today. Too bad for him and he’s team his going up against the most dangerous right wing in the league. Whether Nani’s running at Clichy or creating room to use his even improving crossing ability, the Portuguese attacker has a huge advantage over his counterpart, and with Wayne Rooney’s underrated ability to play the perfect early ball wide, Nani will be given plenty of chances to turn this match for United.

Andrei Arshavin vs. Rafael/John O’Shea - We don’t know who Ferguson will start at right back, and we don’t know how long Arshavin will stay on the left. With Tomas Rosicky likely to start in place of Fàbregas, Arshavin may spend much of his time on the right, a position from which he played a part in Nasri’s second goal against Fulham. Should he be out there, Patrice Evra will create a match-up to United’s liking, but if Arshavin stays left, the Russian Prince will have a chance to continue his recent resurgence - the underappreciated enabler of Nasri’s ascencion. Ferguson may go with Rafael, giving him another threat going forward, one which can further exploit Clichy. But Rafael’s positional awareness is still developing, giving Arshavin the chance to drag him out of position. If that risk is too great for Ferguson, expect to see O’Shea, which will allowed Arshavin to have a greater role in build-up play, with O’Shea more likely to stay along the line.

Marouane Chamakh vs. Rio Ferdinand/Nemanja Vidic - We’ve seen how important Chamakh is to Arsenal’s attack, pegging the central defenders back, creating that little extra room in front of the defense. Defenders can’t jump out of the line to break-up Arsenal’s patented build-up play. You just can’t give Chamakh that kind of space. Today, he’ll be matched against the league’s best central defense pair, each of whom are capable of winning individual battles against Chamakh. Though Vidic would be United’s preferred marker, Ferdinand is more than able to nullify Arsenal’s aerial threat, giving the Gunners one fewer outlet should their preferred short passing game break down. Of course, this being the former Bordeaux man’s first meeting with United, there’s always the chance he’s too much for the Red Devil defenders.

Dimitar Berbatov vs. Sebastien Squillaci/Laurent Koscielny - This looks like a great match-up for United, particularly given Nani’s advantages over Clichy and the presence of Wayne Rooney. Koscielny and Squillaci’s positioning and decision making have been suspect during the absence of Thomas Vermaelen. Both those qualities will need to be in mint condition against United. Berbatov’s meandering ways make it easy to lose track of him, particularly giving the work rates of Nani, Park Ji-Sung, Rooney and, if he plays, Anderson. And that’s the one caveat with this match-up. Anderson has started three of the last six meetings against Arsenal, with Ferguson preferring to use him and his disruptive ways at the top of a midfield triangle - a great way to blow up Arsenal’s passing gave before it has a chance to become threatening. If United uses that option, Berbatov will be the odd man out.

And that highlights the final match-up, the sixth of our five big ones (if you will): Alex Ferguson versus Arsene Wenger. It’s a rivalry that’s defined the Premier League era, with Wenger being the first man to meaningful break United’s Premier League hegemony. In recent years, Arsenal has had to regroup, and the friendly competition Ferguson had with José Mourinho had temporarily usurped the Ferguson-Wenger dynamic.

But with Mourinho now long gone, we’ve been reminded: There’s nothing like Ferguson-Wenger, particularly when it comes to their tactics. Wenger is an idealist, adhering to the idea that there’s an inherent way his team plays. The style that’s born from that commitment has kept Arsenal amongst Europe’s elite, even while they’ve regrouped.

Ferguson embodies a more pragmatic approach. What’s his base formation? His choice XI? It all depends on the opponent. That element of predictability versus uncertainty only augments one of the league’s great rivalries.