Arsenal and Manchester United lock horns at Emirates Stadium on Sunday in perhaps the biggest clash between the two sides since the title-tussling encounters of the mid-2000s.
The two Premier League greats are a shadow of their former selves; the Gunners have not won the title since 2004 while United last lifted the Premier League in Alex Ferguson's final season in charge, 10 years ago.
Yet the 2022-23 season has seen the old rivals show signs of vast improvement.
Arsenal's patience in Mikel Arteta is paying off. A return to the Champions League might have been the target heading into the campaign, but the Gunners find themselves in pole position in the title race.
Similarly, Erik ten Hag has steadied the ship at Old Trafford, following a difficult start at the club, to give United a shot at becoming involved in the title equation.
Those hopes were dented slightly by a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on Wednesday, though claiming a second win of the season over the Gunners, whose only league loss of the campaign came at Old Trafford back in September, would greatly enhance their status as contenders.
Crucial to the form of both teams have been two playmakers; classic number 10s in terms of their technical ability and distribution, but the pair also possess the keys to success in the modern game – aggression and work rate.
Martin Odegaard, Arsenal's captain, has excelled since he was handed the armband by Arteta ahead of the campaign. The Norway international, signed by Real Madrid back when he was 16, has gone from strength to strength, and clinched the Premier League Player of the Month award for November/December.
United, meanwhile, have Bruno Fernandes back at his best and, though his displays have gone under the radar in comparison to Odegaard, the Portugal midfielder stands as one of the Premier League's finest performers this term.
Two sides of the same coin
Odegaard's numbers in front of goal this season have been the driving force behind conversations that there may well be another Norwegian in the running for player of the year alongside Erling Haaland.
The 24-year-old has scored eight times and set up his team-mates on five occasions. His tally of direct goal contributions (13) is bettered by only three Premier League players.
While Fernandes is behind his rival in that regard, the Portugal international shares plenty of similarities this season with Odegaard – particularly when creating chances for team-mates.
Odegaard's expected assists (xA) this season stands at 4.23, averaging 0.26 per 90 minutes, with Fernandes tallying an almost identical 0.27 per 90 (4.89 xA).
Fernandes (2.2) and Odegaard (2.6) are close too in the number of chances created per 90 minutes, as well as progressive passes (4.9 per 90 for Fernandes, 4.4 for Odegaard).
The pair also rank among the top six players in the Premier League for attacking sequence involvements from open play, Fernandes standing top of the pile with 128 while Odegaard comes sixth with 102.
That puts Odegaard narrowly ahead of team-mates Bukayo Saka (98) and Gabriel Martinelli (97), evidence the Gunners are sharing the attacking burden more widely.
United are seemingly more reliant on Fernandes' involvement – his 49 chances created is 24 more than any of his club-mates.
Leading by example
Arsenal have hardly lacked a creative midfielder down the years. They boasted Mesut Ozil, another former Madrid player, previously, but fan frustration towards the World Cup winner eventually grew to a perceived reluctance to shoot and instead look for an extra pass to create a goal, while the German's languid playing style also drew criticism.
Prior to this campaign, Odegaard was perceived as also attempting to play an extra pass where the option to shoot was on. This term, though, he has taken a more direct approach, and he is Arsenal's leading goalscorer in the top flight.
A shooting accuracy of 60.71 per cent puts him ahead of Gabriel Jesus (54.05) and Saka (48), while just narrowly behind Martinelli (62.07).
Odegaard also has the best shot conversion rate of the quartet (19.05 per cent) and averages a goal every 179 minutes in the Premier League, again higher than the others in Arsenal's first-choice attack.
His willingness to shoot is made clear when compared to his fellow Premier League midfielders, with only Bryan Mbeumo (29), Kevin De Bruyne (30), Harvey Barnes (31) and Kai Havertz (31), who is often utilised as a forward at Chelsea, trying their luck on more occasions – though none of those four have a better minutes-to-goal ratio than the Arsenal man.
Captain Fernandes
In contrast to Odegaard, Fernandes has not taken on the role of club captain on a full-time basis but has been called upon regularly by Ten Hag this season, with Harry Maguire out of favour.
Fernandes has captained United in 14 of their 19 league games, with Maguire and the now departed Cristiano Ronaldo taking the armband for the other five matches, and United perform far better when the former Sporting CP midfielder is in the role.
United have won 71 per cent of their matches with Fernandes as captain (10 of 14), losing just once, compared to a 40 per cent win percentage without him wearing the armband – winning two and losing three of those five games.
With Fernandes as captain, United have scored more goals per game and conceded less per game than with Maguire or Ronaldo in the role. Perhaps the Portugal international's influence on the team stems further than just his numbers in the final third.
Now Ronaldo is out of the picture, Fernandes' opportunities with the armband should increase, particularly if Maguire fails to win back favour, and that will serve as a positive for United's push to enter the title picture.
Come Sunday, whoever can come out on top in the battle between the two number eights might just win the game.
Stuart Attwell named in VAR team for Euro 2024 amid Forest controversy
Stuart Attwell will be one of the VARs at this summer’s European Championship in Germany, with Anthony Taylor among the on-field referees.
The news comes two days on from the pair being on duty for Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 loss at Everton, after which the officiating was attacked in a social media post from the visitors that referenced Attwell being “a Luton fan”.
The post said there had been “three extremely poor decisions – three penalties not given – which we simply cannot accept”, adding: “We warned the PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game, but they didn’t change him.”
On Monday, Forest said they had submitted a formal request to PGMOL for audio of discussions between Attwell and Taylor in relation to the three incidents to be made public.
They also called on PGMOL to change its rules on officials’ allegiances “to account for contextual rivalries in the league table’, not just local rivalries”.
Three Forest members of staff – boss Nuno Espirito Santo, referee analyst Mark Clattenburg and full-back Neco Williams – have been asked by the Football Association for their observations following comments they made after the match at Goodison Park, while the Premier League is examining the club’s social media post.
As well as Taylor, with assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, Michael Oliver will be the other English on-field referee at the Euros, assisted by Stuart Burt and Dan Cook, UEFA said on Tuesday. The other English VAR alongside Attwell will be David Coote.
Barcelona could demand Real Madrid replay if ‘phantom goal’ deemed legal
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has threatened legal action and could demand a replay after his side were denied a goal against Real Madrid at the weekend.
Lamine Yamal thought he had scored in the 28th minute of Sunday’s 3-2 LaLiga loss at the Bernabeu but, after a lengthy VAR check, it was ruled the ball had not cross the line.
The Spanish competition does not use goalline technology.
Laporta has requested footage and audio of the decision-making over this “phantom goal” incident from the Spanish Football Federation and will then consider further action.
He said in a statement on the club’s website, fcbarcelona.com: “If, once this documentation has been analysed, the club understands that an error was made in the revision of the incident, we will take all available measures to reverse the situation, without discounting, obviously, any necessary legal action.
“If it is confirmed that it was a legal goal, we will move ahead and we do not discount requesting that the game be replayed, just as has happened in another game in Europe due to a VAR error.”
Laporta was referring to a decision to replay a Belgian Pro League between Anderlecht and Genk because of a VAR error earlier this season.
Real went on to win the match 3-2 with a stoppage-time winner from Jude Bellingham and are now 11 points clear of Barca at the top of the table.
Football rumours: Five clubs in the race to sign Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise
Five clubs are in the race to sign Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise, Football Insider reports, with Arsenal and Manchester United joining Manchester City, Juventus and Chelsea. The 22-year-old has scored seven goals in 14 games for Palace this season.
The Sun says Barcelona have joined Arsenal in the fight for Newcastle striker Alexander Isak with the Spanish club hoping to strike a deal with the Magpies for a player reported to be valued at around £90million. The 24-year-old Sweden international has scored 17 goals in 24 Premier League games for Newcastle this season.
Meanwhile, the credentials of Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag will be assessed by new technical director Jason Wilcox as the club decides on the Dutchman’s future, according to the Telegraph, while the same outlet says former Wolvers manager Julen Lopetegui is a contender to replace David Moyes at West Ham.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchViktor Gyokeres: The 25-year-old Sporting Lisbon striker is Arsenal’s top target as the Gunners prepare to make several signings this summer, Football Transfers reports.
Wilfred Ndidi: Crystal Palace are interested in the Leicester midfielder who is available for a free transfer this summer, according to Talksport.
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