Arsenal v Manchester United – A look at what was to be the big game this weekend

This weekend’s big fixture in the FA Women’s Super League would have seen third-placed Arsenal take on fourth-placed Manchester United at Meadow Park.

The game is off with the FA Women’s Super League currently suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic but we have decided to still take a look at what would have been an intriguing fixture.

Arsenal’s home form this season has been pretty exceptional. The Gunners have won 15 of their 16 matches in all competitions at Meadow Park. Their only home defeat saw Joe Montemurro’s side humiliated by FA Women’s Super League title rivals Chelsea in January, The Blues winning the match 4-1.

Should Sunday’s match against Manchester United have gone ahead, it would have been interesting to see just how The Gunners would have fared with the potential continued absence of boss Montemurro who is currently attending to family matters back in Australia. Arsenal would have also just played French club Paris Saint-Germain in consecutive midweek fixtures in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, therefore fatigue could have been a factor.

Manchester United currently have a better defensive record than Arsenal in this season’s FA Women’s Super League so there are signs that this game could have been a tight affair. Prior to the suspension of the league last month, United’s form had been a little patchy, although they had returned to winning ways with an important 3-2 victory at Everton.

Casey Stoney’s side held Arsenal for 89 minutes in the reverse fixture before Danielle van de Donk netted a late winner for The Gunners at The Leigh Sports Village. Last season’s meeting in the semi-finals of the FA Women’s Continental League Cup was also a very tight affair with Arsenal running out 2-1 winners at Meadow Park.

Many would have predicted an Arsenal win in the latest meeting between the two sides but Manchester United haven’t been all that far away from matching the sides above them this season and would certainly have had their say in this fixture.

Daniel Pentland

I am the editor and owner of FAWSL Full-Time magazine. I have been reporting on men’s and women’s football at various levels since summer 2015. Some of the events which I have reported from include the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship, 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019, SSE Women’s FA Cup final, Emirates FA Cup final, UEFA Europa League, English Football League and various international matches.

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