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Casemiro's suspension for Sunday's matchup with Premier League leaders Arsenal has handed a severe blow to Manchester United ahead of the crucial trip to the Emirates Stadium.
In Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, Casemiro, who cost United £60 million when he left Real Madrid, received his fifth caution of the year for a nasty tackle on Wilfried Zaha.
At the moment, United was up 1-0 and on track for what would have been its 10th straight victory across all competitions. Casemiro, however, scythed down Zaha with a full-blooded high tackle in an attempt to stop a Palace breakaway, and it's perhaps a good thing he wasn't dealt with more severely for it.
The Brazilian instantly expressed his annoyance with teammate Bruno Fernandes, giving the United captain a knowing look after the latter dodged a challenge that led to the pass breaking to an oncoming Zaha a few seconds earlier.
The rest of the time, Casemiro excelled in south London, disrupting play in the middle of the field and providing his teammates with a stage to shine on.
The necessity of having a top-tier defensive midfielder has been underscored by his presence in recent months, but Palace's ability to finish better and snag a point was helped by his yellow card and maybe the realization that he will miss the trip to Arsenal.
After leaving his formal club in the summer, few months after winning his fifth Champions League in a row in madrid, Casemiro fail to obtain a starting lineup under Erik ten Hag as he took his time to become familiar with the club.
When he came to United they went on to become the best team in the nation. His last Premier League game as a substitute was the 6-3 by Manchester City in October.
United is the only Premier League team to have defeated Arsenal so far this year. Finding a means to do that again on Arsenal's home field will suddenly be more difficult.
0.002 SRY