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This story reflects the general state of Manchester United.

“I will not have the time Arteta had – I feel that. It’s a different club. So we just need to survive with the players [available] on Sunday. I think it’s a different club – in that aspect, the way Arteta dealt with that is an inspiration for everybody but I will not have the time like Arteta had.”

• Midfielder unhappy with his goal and assist return
• Captain hopes midweek double is a turning point

Martin Ødegaard has admitted he has “not been good enough” this season, particularly in regards to his goals and assists output. The Arsenal captain has pulled no punches in his assessment of a campaign that was undermined by a two-month ankle injury layoff from early September.

Ødegaard was back to his driving and creative best in Arsenal’s 7-1 win at PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, scoring two and providing one assist. As he prepares for Sunday’s Premier League visit to Manchester United, he hopes it can mark a turning point.

A Manchester United player of 2025 has even fewer places to hide than his 1990s Liverpool equivalent in this era of social media content

Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. “In my day” will be offered as advice until the end of time itself. Twas ever thus. Punditry is, by nature, viewed through the prism of the past. Glance into a Premier League press room on match day, the thickened waistlines and/or greying hair of former heroes will be present and correct.

The BBC’s Test Match Special is forever travelling back in time, if not so frequently as when Fred Trueman was part of the team. The self-proclaimed “fastest bloody bowler that ever drew breath” constantly hailed back to the days of Leonard Hutton and the Yorkshire team of the 50s. TMS, despite cricket’s many modernities, has never truly extracted itself from its golden era of EW Swanton and John Arlott.

No new striker, too many injuries, too intense – the supposed fatal flaws in Mikel Arteta’s team ignore their consistent success

One of the problems with sport, imported from heartwarming mid-90s books about Man Feelings and their attendant movie adaptations featuring Colin Farrell looking sad in a hoodie, is the idea that football in particular has something to tell us about life. In many ways this is correct. It’s just that the things football has to tell us are not always good or helpful.

For example, the concept of the zero-sum game. It’s not a zero-sum game. People say this a lot now, often in the context of some reductive and binary argument, the kind of internet shouting match where there can be only one winner, that for one party to succeed it must necessarily be bad for everyone else, without nuance or shared benefits and burdens. Grownups are always insisting that it’s not a zero-sum game.

• Negotiations over extension have not led to agreement
• United open to sale of player valued at about £70m

Kobbie Mainoo is minded to reject the offer of a new contract at Manchester United and seek a move abroad. The midfielder has two years on his deal but the club would be open to selling the England international, who is valued at about £70m, to help their finances.

The Stockport-born academy graduate, 20 in April, joined United aged six and made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2023. Mainoo, who has 10 England caps, has played 60 times for the first team and has been in protracted negotiations over a new deal but no agreement has been found. He has been discussed as a potential Chelsea target but moving to another Premier League club is not currently part of Mainoo’s thinking.

• United manager talking about Arteta’s early Arsenal years
• Amorim: ‘We just need to survive on Sunday’

Ruben Amorim views Mikel Arteta’s rebuild of Arsenal as an inspiration but does not believe he will be granted the same time to reverse Manchester United’s fortunes.

United host Arsenal on Sunday having won once in their past four Premier League games. They are 14th on 33 points, while Arteta’s side are second on 54 and all but into the Champions League quarter-finals after a 7-1 first-leg win at PSV Eindhoven.

Cunha’s ban could reignite relegation battle, Nketiah is full of confidence and Manchester United have lost fear factor

A clear contrast in styles will be visible in a game that could have major ramifications for the Champions League qualification hopes of both Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. No team in the Premier League has averaged less possession than Forest’s 40.1% this season and no team has more of the ball on average than Manchester City (60.4%). So the fact a 59-point chasm between the teams from last season has been completely eroded – Nuno Espírito Santo’s men are actually a point better off than the champions after 27 games – suggests possession is not the footballing essential it once was. City were routine winners at home to Forest in December but beating Nuno’s side at the City Ground is a far sterner challenge. Arsenal and Liverpool are among the sides who have failed to do so in recent months. Dominic Booth

Nottingham Forest v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Brighton v Fulham, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Ipswich Town, Saturday 3pm

Liverpool v Southampton, Saturday 3pm

In the end, two outstretched hands were decisive. The first, from Bruno Fernandes, probably denied Manchester United a victory; the second, from André Onana, definitely denied Real Sociedad one. After a first half low on quality, Manchester United gave themselves a first-leg lead against Real Sociedad when Joshua Zirkee guided a side-footed shot beyond Alex Remiro that had appeared to set them up not just for a win but potentially one big enough to virtually see them through. But an eagle eye and a video replay gave Real a penalty that allowed them to draw level and in the very last minute, they almost added a second.

Ultimately, a 1-1 draw is not a bad result for United to take from a night when they did not always impress, but it will have frustrated them and it offered little evidence of them having overcome their most pressing problems. Instead it revealed some of the flaws, especially in the first half.

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6 min: A free kick for Sociedad out on the right. Kubo curls it in. Dalot heads half-clear. Barrenetxea returns the ball into the mixer from the left. Too long. Kubo tries again from the other side. He can neither get a cross in nor a shot away. United finally clear their lines.

4 min: Garnacho has started the game on the right. Hojlund fills in on the left with a direct dribble and low cross that’s easily cleared, but the run offers United some early hope.

The Real Sociedad and Spain keeper on old teammates, new challenges and how Manchester United inspired him

Sometimes it’s the detail that stays with you. Alex Remiro can’t remember the brand, but he can still see the colour, the way they looked, how much he liked them. “When I was a kid, if you became a goalkeeper it was because you were an Iker Casillas fan, because you were the biggest, or because no one else wanted to do it,” he says. Or because one day in Cascante, Navarre, a friend turns up with a pair of gloves: brand new, grey and very, very cool. “I was like: ‘Hey, let me have a go.’ I went in goal and, well, I never left again.”

Now he is a European champion with Spain; a Copa del Rey winner with Real Sociedad, their first trophy in 34 years, albeit one won in an empty stadium and a year late, a sadness to the celebration they had to have without the fans and with a single family member each; and no one in La Liga has kept more clean sheets this season. And the way he tells it, that’s thanks in part to Manchester United, their opponents on Thursday, and the team who taught la Real a lesson. Literally, he says.

Manchester United, Tottenham and Rangers are among the teams battling for places in the quarter-finals

By WhoScored

Fenerbahce effectively wrapped up their playoff tie against Anderlecht in the first leg, winning 3-0 at home to ease their way into a last-16 meeting with Rangers. The Yellow Canaries are in good form; their 3-0 win over Antalyaspor on Sunday extends their unbeaten run to 18 matches. José Mourinho’s team are particularly strong at home, having won eight of their past nine at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.

• Manager talks up long-term project for struggling side
• Maguire and Ugarte miss last-16 trip to Real Sociedad

Ruben Amorim said winning the Europa League will not magically resolve Manchester United’s problems. The Portuguese coach, who travelled to Spain with a squad of just 18 players to face Real Sociedad in the last-16 first leg, admitted that silverware would strengthen his position as well as that of the club, but claimed that it was not crucial, leaving the impression that this competition is not a priority.

Amorim also said that he would not change his approach regardless of results, insisting “I am clear” during a press conference which revealed the contradictions between optimism and realism as he continued to manage expectations.