Arteta demands hard-running Arsenal stick to high-energy plan against United

Mikel Arteta has had plenty of non-negotiables since he took over at Arsenal on a mission to restore the glory days of Arsène Wenger, but there is one, surely, that stands above the rest: the imperative for non-stop running, collective intensity in the press and transitions. “I don’t see the game played in any other way,” the manager said before the showdown with Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

It is some years since this was the fixture of the season but it will nonetheless bristle with significance. Arsenal will want to build on Wednesday’s 4-2 win at Chelsea to drive their push for a top-four finish; United are hoping for something, anything, to get back on track after the 4-0 humbling at Liverpool. If United take nothing, their aim of Champions League qualification would probably be dead.

“It’s that we are dominant, that we are playing as much as possible in the opponent’s half, that we are aggressive, that we want to regain the ball as quick as possible, that when the ball is over us I want to see everybody sprinting back,” Arteta continued. “To do that you have to be really fit. Your lifestyle is key. Your natural qualities and what you can deliver physically become really important. Because now we are doing it once a week but hopefully we will be required to do it three times a week [next season].”

The key is that Arsenal are able to do it. Arteta has a plan, a modern one which chimes with what the very best are doing, and the Arsenal support and board can see it. There is a fair chance that the vision has insulated Arteta during the low moments of a tenure that began in December 2019 – most notably the horror run that led up to Christmas of the following year. It does not work all of