Gunners, Red Devils heading in opposite directions

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This article was published 10/05/2024 (532 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Keane vs. Vieira, The Battle of the Buffet, “squeaky-bum time”…

It wasn’t so long ago that Manchester United-Arsenal was generating career-defining rivalries, violent and occasionally bizarre confrontations, and quotes that instantly became part of English football lore.

Which is why, for a pair of clubs that used to meet at what seemed like every critical juncture, it’s startling to see them playing in two completely different seasons.

Arsenal, to their credit, are operating in the current one.

With two matches remaining on their Premier League schedule, the Gunners are still in a title race that will likely go down to the final day on May 19. While manager Mikel Arteta may be sweating over the fitness of top-scorer Bukayo Saka, he is hardly without options when it comes to generating offence.

Left-back Takehiro Tomiyasu is also training hard in an effort to overcome a calf injury. Again, Arteta has a ready replacement in the form of Oleksandr Zinchenko. In any event, these are the sort of immediate squad concerns that teams are accustomed to addressing prior to kick-off.

They’re also the type of day-to-day issues Manchester United have booted into the future — one they trust will someday be as normal, nevermind as hopeful, as that of their Sunday opponents.

It all makes for an extremely awkward encounter (Sunday, 10:30 a.m., FuboTV) between one club laser-focused on the moment and another having already given up on the current campaign and looking anxiously to the next one.

Where Arsenal are fine-tuning their line-up to face first United and then Everton — and crossing their fingers for the Manchester City slip-up that would see them lift the trophy next week — United are mindlessly deploying an XI they know will not exist a month from now.

Their own manager, Erik ten Hag, is himself likely polishing his CV, what with ambitious investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s top-to-bottom changes expected to extend to the coaching staff and playing personnel during the summer.

That United’s defence to face Arsenal will consist of Jonny Evans and Casemiro, neither of whom will be at the club next season, isn’t even a concern at this point. It’s yesterday’s problem. Or, last season’s — which, for the Red Devils, is this one.

Ditto Sunday’s starting full-backs, midfielders Christian Eriksen and Sofyan Amrabat, forward Anthony Martial and, if anyone will take him, right-winger Antony. Raphael Varane is out of contract shortly and won’t be back, and a whole bunch of players are on deals that expire in 2025, meaning they’ll be available for cut-rate transfer fees. They include Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Scott McTominay and Amad Diallo.

In fact, with Ratcliffe willing to listen to offers for most of the squad — including Marcus Rashford — it’s simpler to list the players whose positions are safe: Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund.

In that context, however, the Red Devils would seem to be playing in 2025-26, or next-next season.

While Arsenal, those one-time national derby rivals, are playing meaningful football at the time of year when big clubs play meaningful football, Manchester United are building a front-office braintrust of former City CEO Omar Berrada, ex-Southampton technical director Jason Wilcox and, as soon as they meet Newcastle’s asking price, Magpies’ sporting director Dan Ashworth.

It could well end up being the most elite, innovative and ruthless recruitment and development team in the Premier League, but it will also only set United up for success a year from now, or the year after that.

There will be no clashing of big personalities this Sunday, no epic head-to-heads or memorable one-liners. Only a strange contest between old foes, one of whom has everything to play for and another who is playing out the string so they can start from scratch.

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