Manchester United will have to make do without midfield enforcer Casemiro when they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
The Brazilian international, who joined the Reds from Real Madrid for an initial fee of £60million last August, will miss the trip to the capital after receiving his fifth booking of the season during Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. He was cautioned with just ten minutes of normal time left on the clock for a crunching tackle on Wilfried Zaha.
If a player picks up five bookings within the opening 19 games of the campaign then they are forced to serve a one-match ban, meaning Casemiro collected his fifth yellow card of the campaign in the final game before the cut-off point. United have not started a Premier League game without him since the 6-3 defeat to Manchester City on October 2.
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The 30-year-old has become a stalwart figure for Erik ten Hag this season, playing a key role in transforming United's fortunes. His world-class quality and winning mentality has meant the Reds have benefited from his addition to the squad in more ways than one.
His absence against Arsenal, however, promises to concern United's supporters, such is the way he has performed over the last few months. He is key in making the Reds tick and the thought of being without him against the current table-toppers is a worry.
With that said, Ten Hag has a big decision to make on who replaces him in midfield, most probably alongside Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes. Here, MEN Sport has taken a close look at three ways United could line-up against the Gunners without their Brazilian talisman:
McTominay comes in
When Casemiro first arrived at Old Trafford back in August, Ten Hag refused to throw him straight into the team, instead choosing to gradually ease him into his new surroundings. While that process took place, Scott McTominay continued in midfield, operating as the Reds' defensive-minded midfielder, joining forces with Eriksen and Fernandes.
The Scotland international, who was recently linked with a move to Newcastle United, is the most logical candidate to fill in for the former Madrid star and operate as the midfield anchor. He is by no means on the same level as Casemiro, but his performances, to his credit, were strong and dependable at the start of the season.
Capable of sticking a foot in, he could be the ideal candidate to be tasked with trying to stop Martin Odegaard from weaving his magic. The Norwegian is in sparkling form right now and will need to be watched like a hawk.
Fred picks up the Brazilian baton
After starting the Manchester derby and producing an impressive performance last weekend, Fred could be at the forefront of Ten Hag's plans against Arsenal. The Brazilian joined forces with Casemiro and Eriksen against Manchester City and was key in helping United limit their neighbours to few opportunities.
Although he is not a natural defensive-midfielder that will fly into challenges like Casemiro does, nor does he have the same passing range as his fellow countryman, he will have the energy to get around the midfield and disrupt things. He is also proactive and will be key in trying to launch counter-attacks.
He is a committed individual and certainly made Kevin De Bruyne aware of his presence last Saturday. He could be needed again to repeat the trick on Odegaard.
Martinez moves up
Although Ten Hag, during his time working with Lisandro Martinez at Ajax, said that the Argentine international does not have the "running capacity" to operate as a defensive-midfielder, it might be a gamble he considers against the Gunners. Martinez has struggled to nail down a place at centre-back since the World Cup, such has been the impressiveness of Luke Shaw's surprise positional change, meaning he could move into midfield at the Emirates.
Shaw has been excellent when deployed at centre-back in recent weeks, including against City last weekend, meaning he has proven himself to be capable of operating in the role against the better teams. If that happens, Tyrell Malacia could return at left-back, paving the way for Martinez to move into the defensive-midfield role, fill in for Casemiro and show his no-nonsense approach in a more advanced role.
On the possibility of operating in midfield, Martinez, speaking back in 2021, said: "I'm not closed to anything. The day I get to play central midfielder, I'll do it again. If that helps the team, I'm going to do it.
"The same as from the side (full-back). I consider myself a versatile player who is always predisposed to give the best beyond the position."
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