Manchester United host Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho (R)
Saturday afternoon sees Manchester United hosting Arsenal at Old Trafford in arguably the biggest game of the weekend.
United are currently sixth in the table after a disappointing start under Jose Mourinho while Arsenal are fourth.
They are both desperate for wins to ensure they can continue to push for the title this season, especially United, who are already eight points behind leaders Liverpool.
Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger both spent the summer improving their defences, with United bringing in Eric Bailly from Villarreal and Arsenal signing Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia.
Both players have enjoyed decent starts to life in England, so who has been the better signing so far? Here’s what the stats have to say.
| Team | Won Tackle per Game | Interceptions Won per Game | Duels Won per Gam | Aerial Duels Won per Game | Poss Won Def 3rd per Game | Ball Recoveries per Game | Accurate Passes per Game | Passing Accuracy | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Bailly | Man Utd | 1.78 | 3.33 | 4.22 | 0.89 | 4.56 | 6.33 | 32.78 | 89% | 9 | 772 |
| Shkodran Mustafi | Arsenal | 1.88 | 3 | 6.38 | 3 | 3.13 | 5 | 54.13 | 84% | 8 | 720 |
Mustafi has been the better tackler, winning more tackles per game, but Bailly is better when it comes to interceptions.
The German is top for duels, posting more duels won per game, 6.3 compared to 4.2 and more aerial duels won, three compared to 0.8.
Manchester United’s Eric Bailly in action with Hull City’s Abel Hernandez
Bailly is better at winning the ball back, though, winning it more often in the defensive third per game, 4.5 compared to 3.1 and more ball recoveries per game, 6.5 compared to five.
The Arsenal man is posting more accurate passes per game but Bailly has the better overall passing accuracy of the two.
A draw on this occasion then and it will be interesting to see which player comes out on top when they meet in this weekend’s game.
Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi
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