Arsenal Face Manchester United In Key Premier League Showdown
Arsenal may have a date with Inter Milan that is most pressing on their consciousness this week, but after that they will know that they face one of their toughest home games of the season. Manchester United head to North London in confident mood after a 2-0 win over Manchester City in Michael Carrick’s first game as interim manager.
So will it be the Gunners who take another step on the road to the Premier League title with a win? Or will the Red Devils continue their improvement under Michael Carrick and do their city rivals a huge favour in the title race?
We will take a look at how both teams will likely shape up for this game, but first lets take a closer look at one of the most historic Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal v Manchester United – History
The first game between these two teams took place in 1894 in Division 2 (now the Championship) with Woolwich Arsenal and Newton Heath (as United were named back then) sharing the points in a 3-3 draw.
Since then, the teams have played a total of 244 times in total. Arsenal have won 91 matches, with Manchester United winning 102 times and 51 matches have finished as a draw.
Some of the most famous fixtures include the 1979 FA Cup Final, won dramatically by Arsenal 3-2 thanks to a last minute Alan Sunderland goal after United had scored twice in two minutes to come from 2-0 down to be drawing 2-2.
Another famous FA Cup tie was the 1999 FA Cup Semi Final replay at Villa Park, made famous by Ryan Giggs stunning goal after running from the half-way line to smash the ball past David Seaman.
The last two games have both been played at Old Trafford and saw the two teams draw 1-1 back in March 2025 and then at the start of this season, Arsenal ran out 1-0 winners at Old Trafford on the opening day of this season.
Arsenal Team News
A key question here is will Mikel Arteta rotate players following their Champions League tie with Inter Milan in midweek? The spine of the team will likely remain unchanged with Arteta picking his strongest players, but wide players, especially in the forward roles, could be rotated.
That means we could see a pairing of Bukayo Saka with Leandro Trossard, Saka with Martinelli or even Eze with Trossard or Martinelli.
Another option is in central attack, where the Gunners could play Gyokeres, or play Merino, or even play Eze in a more withdrawn central role.
Riccardo Calafiori remains a doubt for Arsenal at full back with Ben White likely to continue in place of the out of favour Miles Lewis-Skelly.
Possible Arsenal XI – (4-3-3) – Raya; Timber, White, Gabriel, Saliba; Rice, Odegaard, Zubimendi; Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli.
Man Utd Team News
In his first game in charge Michael Carrick saw his United team earn a fabulous 2-0 win over Manchester City. It wasn’t just the result, but the manner of the performance which delighted many Manchester United fans and pundits.
However, the tests do not get any easier for Carrick in his second game. Arsenal away is about as hard as it will get in the league this season but United can at least come into this game on the back of a morale-boosting win.
With no European game, United have a full week to prepare for this game and given the performance against City, it is hard to see Carrick making many changes to his team, if any, for this game, barring an injury occuring in training in midweek.
As such, I expect United to line up in the same formation and with the same players that earned the win over Manchester City.
Possible Man Utd XI – (4-2-3-1) – Lammens; Dalot, Shaw, Maguire, Martinez; Casemiro, Mainoo; Diallo, Dorgu, Fernandes; Mbeumo
Match Prediction
This should be a very good game. Arsenal’s form of late isn’t as all-conquering as it was and Manchester United have the morale boost of a big win against a key rival.
That said, Arsenal at home have proven very difficult to beat this season and despite a couple of unexpected draws, I am backing the Gunners for the win here.
Prediction – Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United.
