How Man Utd vs Arsenal will be decided by ‘Flying-V’ attack battle – and will Sesko or Gyokeres have bigger impact?

MANCHESTER UNITED and Arsenal lock horns this weekend in their blockbuster Premier League opener.

Both sides have spent heavily this summer, with new big-money centre-forwards hoping to get their sides off to a flyer.

GettyMan Utd and Arsenal lock horns at Old Trafford in the Premier League opening weekend[/caption]

GettyBut the likes of Benjamin Sesko could be a transformative figure for the United attack[/caption]

AlamyWhile Viktor Gyokeres will introduce new elements to Arsenal’s attack as they aim for the title[/caption]

Ironically, United’s Benjamin Sesko and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres were each, at one point this summer at least, the other side’s top target.

But, at Old Trafford, the Red Devils’ will have Sesko, their £74million summer signing from RB Leipzig, leading the line supported by fellow new recruits Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Meanwhile, the Gunners have introduced a cannon to their attack in the form of Gyokeres, with the ever-present Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke providing support.

Both sides have their aim on bigger heights than last season, with United looking to bounce back from the lowest point in the Premier League era and Arsenal eyeing up that elusive league title.

But how will the two teams line up tactically?

Thankfully, after 78 days, our Tactics Exposed show, sponsored by Betfair, has returned with SunSport’s very own Dean Scoggins back at the table.

Below we break down how the opening clash is drawing up between the two Prem titans, and analyse how the match could be decided between the impact of Sesko and Gyokeres.

Who will have the bigger impact – Sesko or Gyokeres?

Where better to start than with the new No9s.

How the two sides will set up on paper is pretty well known to everyone: Ruben Amorim will line up in his trademark 3-4-3, while Mikel Arteta will run his side in their traditional 4-3-3 shape.

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Thanks to their time together at Sporting Lisbon, Amorim will be intimately familiar with how effective Gyokeres can be.

The 27-year-old – who scored 66 goals in 68 games under the Portuguese – will look to drive into the spaces behind the United defence.

This was something Arteta’s side desperately missed last season, with top scorer Kai Havertz seeing his season end early through injury.

In the pre-season clash against Athletic Bilbao, Gyokeres was perfectly comfortable coming deep to link play, and that will free up space for the likes of Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to burst beyond him.

This in turn will create a shape like a flying V, with the introduction of the former Coventry ace making Arsenal’s attack much tighter.

Last season, Arsenal could have certainly been accused of being too slow in getting the ball forward, but this year that is all set to change with the £64m up top.

Gyokeres will be able to batter down low blocks by either running behind them or coming deep and attracting defenders, opening up space for his team-mates to exploit with runs from deep or direct passes from the likes of William Saliba or David Raya.

In terms of the hosts, after Rasmus Hojlund‘s disappointing year, a new ace with confidence still in him will do the misfiring United attack the world of good.

Starting off with the obvious, at 6ft 5″, Sesko is a giant who also happens to have one hell of a leap and the pace to match.

We haven’t seen him in action in a Red Devils shirt yet due to his arrival on being announced last week, but what we can expect is for the home side to also deploy a flying V of their own.

But this will be an inverse to Arsenal’s V, with Sesko acting as the tip of the spear ahead of Mbeumo and Cunha and the wing-backs and Bruno Fernandes behind them in support.

With the lack of a ball-playing midfield addition – needed due to United’s slow and tame build up play which saw them often lose the ball in the first third – United will want to go direct into Sesko a lot.

United have actually already seen the perfect tactical blueprint to expose the Arsenal defence by Paris Saint-Germain last season, with Ousmane Dembele‘s goal against them in the Champions League.

PSG emptied the midfield area to attract the defence out wide, which then made Dembele an free option to pass to as he ran through the middle.

In contrast to Arsenal’s bombing attacking runners, United’s idea will be to get the attack isolated one on one against defenders to then open space for the spare man spinning behind, as is expected of wing-backs Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu through third-man runs.

Will the 3-4-3 bear fruit?

Last season it is safe to say Amorim’s system flattered to deceive, even if you want to put it down to a lack of personnel who fit the system.

But will it be different this time around? It’s the million pound question, but the 3-4-3 has actually shown glimpses of taking on a new form in pre-season for United.

This year we can expect to see far more flexibility in the system, even if they set up in a 3-4-3 on paper.

Rotations will be the key term, with the wing-backs creating a swing effect as one wing-back pushes on and the other in turn drops deeper to create a passing option.

This will see the right centre-back becoming more of a right-back, with one of the midfielders moving wide to fill the space created by this movement.

Put simply, time on the training ground working on the system in pre-season should make the system look far better than what was seen towards the back end of last year.

They should be much better, although they do still need a key figure in midfield – such as Carlos Baleba – to bring them to the next level.

Where will Bruno Fernandes play?

Without doubt, Man Utd’s best player of last season, Fernandes will once again be a huge figure for the Old Trafford outfit for the upcoming campaign.

However, while he has traditionally played as the linchpin of the United offence, the 30-year-old will have a new role as the conductor of the orchestra.

Last season, we spoke about how Fernandes was doing too much for United and seemed to have little trust in his team-mates.

However, with the arrival of Mbeumo and Cunha, Fernandes should have some of the creative weight lifted from his shoulders.

There will be two ways of looking at Fernandes’ role, depending on who they play against.

Teams who press United in a two will see the split centre-backs ensure there is a passing option before the ball gets into Fernandes in the first or middle third.

But in pre-season, at times one of the United defenders moved into midfield, with Fernandes then occupying space further forwards, where he can do his best work, as the other attackers also drift wide.

This gives defenders a problem over who to pick up, with Fernandes being one of the most dangerous attacking players in the league it hands them a dilemma over whether to pick up him or one of the other United forwards.

With the defender moving into midfield it also creates a box midfield, which United then being able to have up to six attackers driving forwards.

Fernandes’ versatility and endurance also means he can acts like a second substitute as he is able to move further forwards later on if one of the other attackers is not having much joy playing.

Will Odegaard benefit from Zubimendi’s arrival?

By his usually lofty standards, Odegaard, 26, did not have a great season last year.

However, the arrival of Martin Zubimendi at Arsenal for £60m could be a transformative figure for Odegaard, and by extension the Gunners attack.

It is no secret of where these midfielders will play, with Odegaard one of the attacking No8s alongside Declan Rice and Zubimendi, 26, expected to be the new No6.

In games where they need to play a double pivot, Zubimendi will simply slot in alongside Rice.

But the Spaniard’s range of passing will allow Arsenal to stretch the pitch and allow Odegaard to buzz around the pitch to find dangerous spaces.

Last season the Gunners were an incredibly lopsided team, with many of their attacks coming down the right flank and the team often being seen in a horseshoe shape in a horrifying attack.

One thing which might be a controversial take, is that Arsenal should consider switching Odegaard and Rice to the opposite sides.

It will create a new dynamic for the attack on both sides, swapping the bombing runs of Rice to support Saka with the creative passing of Odegaard on the other side for the likes of Martinelli.

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