manchester united replaced viv anderson in midfield with paul ince, while denis irwin reverted to right-back after a cameo in midfield. club captain bryan robson was recovering from an achilles tendon injury he aggravated playing for england at the 1990 fifa world cup, so neil webb was named as captain in robson's place. for arsenal, anders limpar recovered from a calf injury; he escaped a fine from the swedish football association for failing to attend the national team's match against west germany on 10 october. michael thomas was declared fit to start in midfield.