Arsenal return to the Premier League matches this evening as they face Manchester United away from home.
Mikel Arteta’s side are facing longtime rivals as they look to build on their 3-0 win over Dundalk in the Europa League and end a streak of two league games without a win or goal.
A win at Old Trafford would not only boost confidence within the team, but would also lead to an end to the runaway without a victory over one of the “top six” competitors that runs through 2015.
The video is not available
But before the Premier League game, he was Arsenal The team participated in a training session in London Colney on Saturday afternoon as Arteta pondered some important decisions.
Media clips were published to create an atmosphere of the crowd.
This is what we spotted from training photos and what he tells us before the game against Man United on Sunday afternoon.
He explained Ozil’s absence
Mesut Ozil was once again noticeable by his absence from A wide range of photos Taken during the training session.
This was the case earlier in the week before the Dundalk match as he was not in any dispute as he was not scored in the competition.
The same goes for Ozil against Man United, where he was missing a place in the 25-man Premier League squad that was announced last month.
But Sokratis is in exactly the same position, but participated in the Saturday session.
However, while Ozil was not photographed outside with his teammates, he was in attendance at London Colney – though he stayed inside to do some work in the gym.
The 32-year-old has shown he is still in great shape by posting a Instagram video The caption read: “The struggles along the way are only intended to shape you to achieve your goal.”
David Luiz is missing
Another player missed the session, as expected, center-back David Luiz.
And it appears that Arteta’s worst fears have been confirmed.
“Musti had that injury from last season, with Callum the same situation, with Pablo having surgery on his ankle and rarely David being injured. We don’t think it’s a big thing but it will keep him out of action for weeks,” Arteta said before Dundalk won.
Image credit: Will Oliver – Pool / Getty Images
David Luiz’s absence would be a blow to Arteta as he is already without Rob Houlding, Scrates and Pablo Marie on the trip to Manchester.
Nevertheless, Shkodan has trained Mustafa and appears ready to partner with Gabriel Magalhesse at the heart of Arsenal’s defense.
Smith Row Plan
Emil Smith Roe was spotted again at an Arsenal training session.
The young playmaker was somewhat surprisingly disqualified from the match-day lineup against Dundalk, but Arteta appears to see Smith Row as part of the first-team’s plans.
Speaking in June, the Arsenal coach said: “He (Smith Row) is a player with very specific qualities to play in those pockets in this position as an attacking midfielder.
“I am excited to work with him. I have spoken to him and followed him during his loan period.
“I think he’s someone who can be impressive. I’m happy with what I saw of him. Young players want to be important, they want to take important numbers, and I love that.
“It’s a good step, and it could be important in the future, but it’s up to them to decide.”
Arsenal have been lacking in creativity lately, so are you planning to unleash Smith Roe in the coming weeks?
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Positive mood
Arsenal have now lost three of their last four Premier League matches on either side of the international break.
All of those defeats came against the teams that finished above them last season and there was some disappointment after the loss to Man City and Leicester City in particular.
However, the mood in the team is still positive as shown in the few photos below.
What will improve the mood in the team is a win later today.
The good news for Arsenal is that Arteta scored a victory over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his only meeting against the United manager.
Furthermore, the North London team was unbeaten against the Red Devils in four matches in the Premier League.
