How Man Utd can beat Arsenal without Casemiro

There were two major disappointments for Manchester United from the match against Crystal Palace. One was the late equaliser that robbed United of 10 consecutive wins for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson, and the other was Casemiro's yellow card.

The Brazilian spent the whole game knowing that one yellow card would mean he reaches five for the Premier League season and would be suspended for the huge match away at Arsenal on Sunday. With only around 10 minutes to go, he made a foul on Wilfried Zaha to stop a Palace attack and the referee was left with no choice at all but to caution him.

Casemiro gave Bruno Fernandes a pretty ferocious glare after he gave the ball away, because that made a foul on Zaha necessary to prevent a counter-attack.

So with the high-flying Gunners on the horizon, in a game where defeat would likely end all slim hopes of a United title challenge, Erik ten Hag must figure out how to cope without Casemiro

Here's what the Dutchman could choose to do.

The last Man Utd victory over Arsenal

As Ten Hag was quick to point out after the game, United beat Arsenal earlier in the season without Casemiro on the pitch. After the game he said: "This game was important. Every game in the Premier League is a top game. Casemiro is obviously a really important player for us, and he is one of the reasons that we are in the position that we are now.

"But last time we beat Arsenal without Casemiro. We have a squad, so we have to fill that gap and make a proper plan. The squad have to fill it and make sure that there is a team. We already showed how to beat Arsenal."

In the game that he is referencing, it was Scott McTominay that played alongside Christian Eriksen in the midfield two. He has the most similar physical profile to Casemiro, but his ability on the ball and his general effect on the team is significantly less. McTominay has also become less and less prevalent in Ten Hag's selections in the weeks and months after the 3-1 win at Old Trafford.

It also wasn't a game that United dominated, the two-goal margin certainly flattered the Red Devils with Arsenal having six more shots during the game and looking dangerous throughout. United were just more clinical.

If Ten Hag, cares more about the physicality of the game at the Emirates, he may choose to put faith in McTominay who does have a habit of turning up for big matches.

Faith in Fred

The other obvious way in which Ten Hag can line up his United team is with Fred alongside Eriksen and the same fluid 4-2-3-1 formation that has been working so well in recent weeks for the Dutchman.

While Fred's playing time has been reduced in the wake of Eriksen and Casemiro's arrivals, he has been extremely impressive coming off of the bench and his commitment levels seem exactly the same as before.

Starting him and Eriksen means that you lose all height from your midfield, but Arsenal are not a notably tall side and they like to play with the ball on the floor. Fred's ability to rob the ball in midfield could be more important in north London than McTominay's ability to head the ball.

A midfield three for Man Utd

The more conservative option that Ten Hag has available is to revert to more of a 4-3-3. In this scenario, he could have Fred and McTominay in the midfield along with Eriksen. The Dane would of course be the one with the license to roam forward and aid the attack.

By doing this, he would then be forced to play Bruno Fernandes out wide on the right and drop Antony. This has happened before this season, but it is not where the Portuguese midfielder is at his best. The front three would likely be Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst and Fernandes.

This approach may look more defensively solid, but if United want to barge their way into the title race, three points are essential here, a point won't do. That would keep the gap at eight points though Arsenal would still have a game in hand. The onus is on United to attack and that lends itself more to Fred partnering Eriksen with the 4-2-3-1 still being in use.

Man Utd predicted XI vs Arsenal (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Fred, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.

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