Arsenal’s trip to Manchester United offers Arsene Wenger the chance to shape transfer strategy

As Arsenal travel to Manchester United, Jonathan Wilson explains why the encounter will offer Arsene Wenger the chance to determine whether his squad needs significant bolstering in the summer.

Arsene Wenger takes Arsenal to Manchester United on Sunday knowing a win will guarantee a top-three place in the Premier League. Oli Scarff / AFP
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There was an astonishing moment last week when Arsene Wenger suggested his side’s recent form had led him to recalibrate his thinking for the transfer market.

There was a moment of silence, and then the realisation dawned that he meant he was thinking of signing fewer players than had originally been intended.

In that regard, Monday’s 1-0 home defeat to Swansea City might actually have been a blessing for Arsenal — if it persuaded Wenger that this is not yet a squad ready for a serious title challenge.

That is not to say that Arsenal have not played well during the recent run of 10 league games unbeaten. They have, at times extremely well.

The 4-1 win over Liverpool last month at the Emiates Stadium was a performance that hinted that a genuine title challenge might be conceivable next season.

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Swansea came as a reality check. This was Arsenal with the familiar problems. Too slow in possession, too rattled by an opponent who defended deep and aggressively, too reliant on one mode of play once it became apparent that Olivier Giroud was not causing Ashley Williams any problems in the air and, ultimately, too lethargic in defending a simple cross.

Arsenal have without question improved this season and, but for a sluggish start, Wenger blames injuries and a World Cup hangover for some of his players, that saw them win only two of their first eight games of the season, they might have applied some pressure to Chelsea.

But this remains a deeply unbalanced squad, loaded with diminutive creative midfielders, short of cover in defence and at the back of midfield and with question marks remaining at centre-forward and in goal.

One of the features of modern football is its increasing stratification at the top level. What is comfortably good enough to see off a mid-table Premier League side might not be enough against an Uefa Champions League regular.

A forward can score 20 goals a season and still be largely an irrelevance to the elite. That is why Sunday’s meeting of Manchester United and Arsenal has relevance even if the only matter at stake is who finishes fourth and so has to play in the Champions League play-off next season in August.

“It’s very important for your season preparations not to have that kind of stress of the play-off over your head from the first day you start again,” Wenger said.

“We know what it means and we know it’s always tricky, because you can play against teams who are in the middle of their championship when you are in preparation. It is the pressure and the consequences of not qualifying that are massive.”

The closest Arsenal came to not qualifying through the play-off was 2011, when they squeaked by Italian side Udinese and the emotional strain was so great that they went away to United the following weekend and lost 8-2 to a side featuring Anderson and Tom Cleverley in central midfield.

A win would be enough to ensure Arsenal at least a top-three place, but this is also a chance to test themselves against a fellow Champions League qualifier.

United looked smarter in winning the league meeting at the Emirates back in November, but Arsenal were deserving winners in the FA Cup at Old Trafford in March, when there winner was scored by Danny Welbeck, a forward United had decided was not quite good enough for them.

His example is an indication of blurred perceptions of quality can sometimes be, but another game at Old Trafford is a chance for the likes of Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin and David Ospina to make the case that they really are good enough to mix it with the elite.

It may not have much riding on it, but it’s still a game with significance.

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