‘Got to play on that’: Sol Campbell tells Mikel Arteta key to Arsenal win at Old Trafford

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Sol Campbell has told talkSPORT that Mikel Arteta must stress Arsenal press home their advantage to beat Manchester United by playing on the Red Devils’ fragility on Thursday.

Arteta takes the Gunners to Old Trafford seeking back-to-back wins on the road to United after winning 1-0 last November. Arsenal have also not lost away to the Red Devils since April 2018, with scored draws away from home in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.

Avoiding defeat will also see Arsenal stretch their unbeaten streak over Manchester United to seven Premier League games. They had never previously gone more than five unbeaten.

Gunners icon Campbell believes Arsenal can lay the foundations for a top-four finish if they take three-points from Manchester United. A win at Old Trafford would move Arteta’s side into the Champions League positions, above David Moyes’ fourth-place West Ham.

The Invincibles hero also feels the game is there for Arsenal to win as Manchester United are fragile. Ralf Rangnick is yet to stand in the dugout to replace Ole Gunner Solskjaer, too.

“It’s a Man United team that are bruised, really fragile,” Campbell said. “They’ve got new management, but there’s still fragility there – they can’t just disappear.

“So, it’s a great time to play Man United. They’ve got to play on that fragility and really put them under pressure and make sure they press home their advantage of where they are at the moment.

“Arsenal need to press home. We’ve got the advantage and the game is there for Arsenal to win and top-four, if they keep focused, they could make.”

Can Arsenal maintain unbeaten run over Manchester United on Thursday?

Arteta will eagerly want Arsenal to maintain their unbeaten run over Manchester United on Thursday. But the Gunners’ winning at Old Trafford may not be as easy as Campbell hints.

The Red Devils showed at Chelsea they can produce a performance under interim to the caretaker boss Michael Carrick. He set them up to defend for all their worth at Stamford Bridge last Sunday and ultimately got a point.

Manchester United were not pretty, yet could have left south-west London with a win but for a Jorginho penalty. Arteta will now have to break down those likely banks of three in front of four on Thursday with Arsenal.