The new season of the Premier League kicks off next weekend and Arsenal will open their campaign against Fulham on Saturday while Manchester United will return to action against Crystal Palace the following weekend.
Man United managed to finish in the top-four last season but Arsenal barely managed to creep into the Europa League. But according to Danny Murphy, the Gunners should be able to challenge Solskjaer’s men for a place in the top-four during the upcoming campaign.
He wrote for the Daily Mail: “FA Cup and Community Shield winners Arsenal have been transformed under Mikel Arteta and have added Willian and centre-back Gabriel Maghaeles to the outstanding youngsters they’ve got, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang likely to stay.
“They could challenge Manchester United for a top-four place though United still have a slight edge.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signed a very good player in Donny van de Beek from Ajax though he’s not the holding midfielder I thought they needed.
“If he sent out an attacking midfield of Bruno Fernandes, Pogba and van de Beek against a team like Manchester City, United would lose. I assume therefore van de Beek may be seen as a longer-term replacement for Pogba.
“We are also still waiting to see if United break the bank for Jadon Sancho. He’d make them better but to spend £100million is a big call when they already have firepower up front and I’d consider a centre-half a bigger priority.”
Arsenal have managed to win two trophies in the past couple of months but we have to agree with Murphy on the fact that the Gunners are once again likely to miss out on Champions League football.
Despite making just one signing, Man United look a more well-rounded side and some pundits have also predicted that they could be able to challenge for the league title this time around.
The North London side, on the other hand, have a lot of work to do before they can even think of challenging the likes of Liverpool or Man City.
