MANCHESTER: The meeting between Manchester United and Arsenal was once considered one of the classic Premier League matches, full of hard-fought action and players willing to sacrifice for three points.

The two clubs often competed for domestic and European championships under the era of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

However, the aura of the meeting has faded over the past few seasons, with the glory days long gone.

United suffered their worst moment last season when they finished 15th in the Premier League, their worst finish since 1974 when they were relegated – partly due to a backheel goal by club legend Denis Law for Manchester City.

However, United manager Ruben Amorim refused to hide behind excuses. He admitted that United needed one or two new players in key positions to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Among the main targets is Viktor Gyokeres, Amorim’s former protégé at Sporting who scored 97 goals in 102 matches and helped the club win the championship.

However, Arsenal, who had been tracking Benjamin Sesko for a long time, finally managed to secure the Swedish striker’s signature.

Interestingly, Sesko joined United after scoring a record 39 goals and eight assists in 87 appearances with RB Leipzig.

The clash between these two venomous strikers tonight has the potential to determine the outcome of the match, and their performance may even shape the fate of both clubs this season.

Sesko himself once revealed his unique routine: “I meditate at least once a day and take planned breaks. I read books on meditation and try new exercises. For me, it’s just as important as training on the field or in the gym.”

Arsenal have finished second in three consecutive seasons, and this season – their 100th consecutive campaign in the English top flight – feels like the perfect moment to win the title.

Mikel Arteta strengthened the squad with Gyokeres, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga.

United also brought in Sesko, Bryan Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha and Diego Leon.

United have not beaten Arsenal at Old Trafford for three years, however, with their last win coming in September 2022 (3-1).

Arsenal have also been a constant problem since then, winning four of their last five league meetings and scoring at least two goals in three of them.

For this match, United goalkeeper Andre Onana is still struggling with a pre-season injury and may be replaced by Altay Bayindir.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are still without Gabriel Jesus, who has been out injured since the 2022 incident at Old Trafford.

History may give United a slight advantage.

The only opening-day league meeting between the two sides at Old Trafford in the 1989-90 season ended in a resounding 4-1 victory for United.

However, Arsenal come in with an excellent record of being unbeaten in their last 14 away league games (seven wins, seven draws), and have won five of their opening six games of the season, including the last three.

United still have the record for most wins on the opening day of a season (22) and the highest win rate (67%).

In fact, if they win tonight, they will become the first club in English football history to beat Arsenal 100 times.

Furthermore, success at Old Trafford could give them two wins in a row after beating Aston Villa on the final day of last season – something they failed to achieve throughout the 2024-25 season under Erik ten Hag and Amorim.

LONDON: Chelsea players will donate part of their Club World Cup winning bonus to the family of the late Diogo Jota, who died at the age of 28 last month.

However, a commendable act can be witnessed after the Blues stars chose to give up part of their bonuses to raise funds for Jota’s widow after the Liverpool player died in a tragic road accident with his brother, Andre Silva, and left behind three children.

Chelsea players and management made a joint decision to forgo part of their bonuses.

However, it is not yet clear what percentage of the bonus will be donated to Jota’s family.

However, the total bonus amount will be reduced by tax and social security deductions before the sincere contribution to Jota’s family is made.

MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City team may start the season “not ready” as the club still have to offload several players before the transfer window closes.

City, who have 31 senior players, are in Sicily for a friendly against Palermo tonight without Jack Grealish, Stefan Ortega and James McAtee – three players who are expected to leave the club in the near future.

Everton are among the clubs interested in signing Grealish, while Nottingham Forest are leading the race to sign McAtee.

Guardiola also hinted that Rodri’s role in the opening weeks of the season may be limited.

“We need a smaller squad. I don’t like a squad that is too big, a lot of players have to leave.

“The transfer window is moving fast, a lot of things will happen. We will see and try to manage it as best as possible.

“The team’s mood is the same as during the Club World Cup. We may have missed a few friendlies to prepare, so the first three games against Wolves, Spurs and Brighton may not be perfect.

“But we chose to focus more on training sessions than playing matches,” said Guardiola.

Rodri, Phil Foden and Josko Gvardiol were also left out of the second pre-season trip to Italy, with all three still not fully fit.

Rodri has returned to training after suffering a groin injury in the Club World Cup defeat to Al Hilal, but City are cautious about his recovery.

Guardiola expects the Ballon d’Or winner to only be fully fit after the September international break.

“Rodri is getting better but his injury is quite serious. He has been training better these days, and I hope after the international break he will be really ready.

“Maybe in the early matches he can play a few minutes, but the important thing is that he is free from pain. We don’t want him to come back and get injured. He is not ready to play 90 minutes,” he said.

ATLANTA: Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim backed Bruno Fernandes’ criticism of the team’s performance after the 2-2 draw with Everton and said he would be happy for players to speak up if the team’s standards dipped.

Fernandes previously described some of the action at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium as ‘lazy’ and demanded that his teammates improve their level of play.

When asked if he agreed with the team captain’s statement, Amorim insisted that he had no problem if players ‘reprimanded each other’ in line with his efforts to improve the work culture at Old Trafford.

“I’m happy if the players feel that,” said Amorim.

“It shows they understand the real situation. So for me, that’s a good sign. I think the momentum of this tour is perfect.

“We’ve had a few weeks to work in a positive atmosphere and now we’re back at Carrington and about to start the new season.

“We will return with the realization that there is still much to improve.”

In addition to commenting on the performance against Everton, Fernandes also told NBC that he hopes the team can bring in ‘one or two more players’ before the transfer window closes.

“A team can always be improved with more players but we already have players who can create competition internally,” said Amorim when asked about Fernandes’ statement.

“What’s important is that we need to improve as a team. We have the potential to grow with the players we have and I’m very happy with this team.”

So far, United have spent millions to acquire Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who made his debut against Everton.

They are also still interested in RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko.