Manchester United vs. Arsenal: Arsene Wenger's Key Pre-Match Presser Comments

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed Alexis Sanchez will face an assessment on Friday ahead of Saturday's trip to Manchester United in the Premier League, but Hector Bellerin and Santi Cazorla will definitely be absent.

Per Arsenal's official Twitter feed, Wenger gave the latest on Sanchez:

The Chilean suffered an injury in training with his national side and was reported to be facing a spell of up to six weeks on the sidelines, per the Sun's Daniel Cutts, but the forward played and scored twice in La Roja's 3-1 win over Uruguay on Tuesday.

Sanchez has been among Arsenal's form players this season with eight goals and seven assists to his name—his presence will play a big part in their ability to get a result at Old Trafford.

Bellerin will be a significant blow for the Gunners after receiving a strong challenge from Danny Rose in the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break:

Per the Gunners, Wenger added: "Santi is still out. He's not even out in training yet so I don't know when he'll be back."

Much of the focus on Saturday will be on Wenger's rivalry with Red Devils counterpart Jose Mourinho, but the Frenchman would not be drawn on their relationship, per the Mirror's Ben Burrows: "I don't think I have to describe our relationship. He fights for his team, I fight for mine."

According to Cutts, he added: "I won against every manager in the world in my 20 years, I understand people want to create controversy, but that doesn't make the game."

Wenger also confirmed he would remain civil with his old rival, via ESPN FC's Mattias Karen:

The Arsenal manager has only beaten Mourinho once in 15 attempts—in the Community Shield last year. By contrast, the Special One has won eight of their meetings, including a 6-0 humiliation in 2014 while at Chelsea.

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Old Trafford is also the location of perhaps Wenger's worst defeat as a manager—the 8-2 demolition at the hands of United in 2011.

The 67-year-old is acutely aware of the importance of an Arsenal win there on Saturday to their title challenge, according to Cutts: "It will strengthen our belief if you win it. Some wins have been decisive at Old Trafford, but this will just strengthen our position. ... For us it's a very important game. We didn't take our chance to go top of the league against Tottenham."

Further, he did not rule United out of the title race: "They are not so far off the pace. Things can change very quickly. There is no position with the big clubs that is definite."

The Red Devils are in sixth place after winning just one of their last five Premier League matches and are eight points behind league leaders Liverpool.

"It's 'must-win' for United if they want to stay close to the top," Thierry Henry said, per SkySports.com.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be suspended for the clash, but Wenger is wary of the danger posed by United's other attacking stars: "The guy who killed us last year was [Marcus] Rashford. ... I watched him against a Danish team in midweek and he scored and I thought this guy could be dangerous. His movement was good and he was strong. He took everyone by surprise."

Last season, Rashford burst on to the scene with a brace against FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Europa League and repeated the same feat in his Premier League debut for United in his next game—against the Gunners at Old Trafford.

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Arsenal come into the game in the superior form—they remain unbeaten in all competitions since the opening day of the season—but Wenger is wise to avoid complacency.

United returned to winning ways last time out—admittedly against a poor Swansea City side—but even without Ibrahimovic, they have enough quality to pose danger to any side on their day, and they'll surely be fired up for this clash given the way the Special One relishes facing the Gunners.

Wenger is perhaps similarly correct in refusing to rule United out of the title race, though that could hinge heavily on Saturday's result.