Wenger hints at rotation against Man United

Arsene Wenger is set to face Jose Mourinho on Sunday for the last time as Arsenal manager, but he faces a big dilemma as to whether to try and beat his biggest rival, or keep his eye on the main prize, i.e. the Europa League second leg on Thursday.

Man United will want the points to ensure they end up in second place behind Man City, but Arsenal only have a small cushion of four points on Burnley who have been creeping up on the Gunners in the last few weeks, but surely Wenger’s main aim must be to try and get the Gunners back into the Champions League next season, and the only way to reach that goal is to win the Europa League and get in via the back door.

The Boss said today that he will try and beat Man United but will be wary of tiring his top players ahead of the semi final so it looks like he will be rotating his squad and hope his youngsters come good. Last week Wenger rested players and they still came out with a great 4-1 win over the Hammers, but the game at Old Trafford is a different kettle of fish.

When asked what his plans were for the United match, Le Prof said: “I use it to win the game and as well prepare for the next Europa League game,” Wenger said on Friday. “I felt last night like we were sharp, focused. We rested some players in our last game against West Ham but overall I thought we were ready and focused and in good shape.”

Last week Wenger really only gave Ozil and Kolasinac the day off and used Maitland-Niles to rplace Elneny when he went off injured, so maybe his idea of rotation is not so radical. I wonder if he may be a little more adventurous this week. Maybe play Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock to mix things up a bit?

Should Wenger rest lots of top players or really try to beat Man United?

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13 Comments

  1. It doesn’t really matter what he does. Either way we aren’t winning either of the games. Sad but true

  2. The Man U game is a nothing game so why not give some of the youngsters a taste of Old Trafford?

    The Atleti return leg is going to be difficult but not impossible, they are not as good as last season.
    Just go for it, they have some ageing legs in their defence and it appears that Simeone is banned according to the Sun.

  3. against utd we are likely to be resting our key players…so fans should get prepared for a hammering and not complain about a meaningless game

  4. Anyone who thinks this is a coincidence that we play Manchester United at this particular time need the heads examined or are naive to say the least. I study this behavior and have done so for many years and so do the people who draw up the fixture. Believe me the fixture people knew we had a possible semi final in the Europa cup before the list was made up. I’m sure some people will think I’m being paranoid but this happens all the time, every possible advantage in our game is done to help Manchester United. If anybody has any doubts then go back and check some of United’s previous big games and you’ll see a pattern.

      1. Izvidzayi. I suppose City playing Liverpool twice either side of the derby recently was a coincidence while United had no midweek fixtures. I could give you 10 – 15 similar example this season alone. Home games either side of their Champions league fixtures, early in the season 5 days rest before playing both Tottenham and Chelsea, where those two clubs had 3 days rest, games on Saturday, midweek and then Sunday to give them maximum rest, even last week when we were forced to play on Sunday !-30 kick off after playing in Moscow on a Thursday night, they were allowed to kick off at 4-00 even though they had no midweek fixture. Been going on for years mate. Sorry Izvidzayi, you’re the naive one my friend.

    1. I agree Kenny. I also watched that programme on Arsene & Fergie. Omg listening to Phil Neville admitting that they all knew when to put pressure on the ref, they knew exactly what to do & say to him… that a lot of decisions went ‘their way’ (penalties awarded at Old Trafford!) Even Fergie going to see the ref just before kick off to intimidate him. It’s disgusting!! Bloody cheats!
      Anything for Man United hey! I hope we stuff them tomorrow, as I can’t stand them…. No doubt Sanchez will make my blood boil, just like RVP used to ?

    1. I didn’t see the match against Newcastle (luckily!), so I take your word that Willock was bad. But I would give him another chance because Thursday’s match is so much more important, not just for Wenger’s last season, but even more for the new manager – imagine the extra impetus we’ll have at the start of the new season if we have qualifed for the Champion’s League.

      So I would go for a wide-ranging rotation, replacing at least 8 of the starters from the First Leg and giving the second stringers and especially the youngsters a chance at Old Trafford. What’s the point of having an academy if you can’t take risks like that sometimes? Seeing how they respond to the challenge might help the new manager decide who among the youngsters he should trust for the future and who he should let go. That’s important if it’s true that we’ll only have limited transfer funds available this summer…

      1. Yes Joey he was really bad! Yes I agree with what you’re saying, about the importance of Thursday’s match.. we’ll have to field a weaker team…. it breaks my heart though, the thought of losing to them! I NEVER want to lose against them! Well I’ll keep my fingers crossed ?

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