Manchester United’s faint Premier League title hopes may have been extinguished as quickly as they arose.
United’s impressive winning streak was bound to end sooner or later, and there is still a significant portion of the season remaining.
Yet, Wednesday’s draw with Crystal Palace felt like a missed opportunity to increase confidence and press the advantage against Manchester City.
If Erik ten Hag’s team had won at Selhurst Park, they would have surpassed their ris for the first time in several years. For at least one day.
Instead, United squandered opportunities to end the game and appeared to lack offensive firepower without Marcus Rashford’s usual performance. This issue could cost United again in the coming months, as Wout Weghorst appears to be the only attacking reinforcement in January, but there is a much more pressing issue.
It’s still too early to say that this week could be decisive in the title race, but Sunday’s trip to Arsenal is unquestionably a huge game.
United could close to within five points of the table leaders with a win, but would fall to 11 points behind if they lose. Given the consistency of the Gunners, this is an enormous deficit to overcome, so a loss at the Emirates would be devastating.
Casemiro, a pivotal midfielder, will miss the match, which makes his absence all the more regrettable. The Brazilian entered Palace with four bookings, prompting calls for him to be rested to avoid the possibility of suspension. He began the game with a bizarre tackle, wrapping his legs around a player high in the air and bringing him to the ground.
It was an obvious booking that has rendered him unavailable for Arsenal and placed Ten Hag in a difficult position. The excellent partnership between Casemiro and Christian Eriksen has been the foundation of United’s improvement, and they do not perform as well without either player, but especially Casemiro.
This is primarily due to the fact that their replacements are not of the same caliber. Fred, the most likely replacement, performed admirably in the derby victory, but because he was playing alongside both of them, he was not as heavily relied upon on the ball.
The last time he was paired with Eriksen alone, he was removed with Brentford leading 4-0. Scott McTominay possesses comparable technical flaws, and the last time he was used in the holding role, City built a 6-1 lead.
Neither of them is an ideal replacement, especially considering the caliber of the opposition, so perhaps Ten Hag can come up with another unconventional solution. The Dutchman has already surprised with his wildcard selections by effectively using Luke Shaw as a central defender.
He could possibly pull off a similar feat by moving Lisandro Martinez into midfield. Martinez’s versatility was downplayed when he was signed because of his few midfield appearances for Ajax. However, the 25-year-old has the same tenacity in the tackle as Fred and McTominay, but is far superior on the ball and with his distribution.
United will need to utilize possession effectively against such a dangerous opponent, which makes Martinez, despite his inexperience, a potentially superior option. Shaw could easily return to the center-back position, with Tyrell Malacia assuming the left-back position.
It would be an extremely risky and unlikely move against Arsenal, but Ten Hag has surprised before and could very well do so again.
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