New Year’s Day promises to be full of fireworks as Arsenal host Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium.
This fixture was once dubbed to be a title-decider, but now it’s more about sealing a place in the top four.
Both clubs are in a state of rebuilding and both have youthful managers that have been given the very tough job of getting their respective clubs back to the upper echelon of the Premier League.
Manchester United were plagued with injuries in their attack near the start of the season, but the return of their big-name players have seen the Red Devils gain confidence and they have fought their way back to fifth position; four points behind Chelsea in fourth.
Arsenal, on the other hand, have been inundated with problems on and off the pitch and are in 12th position.
This will be Mikel Arteta’s third game in charge of Arsenal and his main duty will be to motivate his players after a 2-1 defeat to their London rivals Chelsea, despite the Gunners being the better team.
With only one win in their previous 15 matches, Arsenal need to start picking up some points and here, we’ve taken a look at some key battles that will decide this game.
