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The idea that this is Arsenal’s season keeps being fuelled.
Take last weekend. The Gunners, who had been held 0-0 by Liverpool in their previous Premier League game, played out another goalless draw, this time at Nottingham Forest.
But far from hurting them, they actually finished Matchweek 22 with their lead at the top extended to seven points after nearest rivals Manchester City and Aston Villa both fluffed their lines and lost.
A 3-1 win at Inter in the Champions League on Tuesday night has added further positivity to the Arsenal camp.
The mood in Manchester, well the red half, has also been lifted after United outplayed City to win last weekend’s derby 2-0 in interim boss Michael Carrick’s first game in charge.
United looked far happier in a 4-2-3-1 system and were unlucky not to win by an even bigger scoreline.
The only slight caveat was that perhaps they ran into City at a good time given the fact that Pep Guardiola’s men followed that loss with a 3-1 humiliation away to Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.
How to watch Arsenal v Man Utd
Arsenal v Man Utd kicks off at 4.30pm GMT on Sunday, January 25 at the Emirates.
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League & Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting from 4pm.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Arsenal team news
Mikel Arteta doesn’t have too many fitness concerns ahead of this one and defenders Piero Hincapie and Riccardo Calafiori are in contention again after returning to training on Friday.
Arteta also had the luxury of resting several big names for Tuesday’s win in the San Siro and he’ll be able to do that again against Kairat Almaty next week with the Gunners almost certain to finish top of the Champions League group table.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice against Inter so is pushing for a start in attack again.
Arsenal expected line-up
(4-3-3) Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, White; Rice, Zubimendi, Odegaard; Trossard, Gyokeres, Saka.
Man Utd team news
With a clean bill of health after the Manchester derby win, no European involvement and his Afcon players now back, Carrick has plenty of options.
It makes sense to stick with the same XI that were far too good for City and that means another start in midfield for Kobbie Mainoo, who had been ignored by Ruben Amorim.
The only continued absentees for United are defender Matthijs de Light and forward Joshua Zirkzee.
Man Utd expected line-up
(4-2-3-1) Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Diallo, Fernandes, Dorgu; Mbeumo.
Arsenal v Man Utd stats
– Arsenal have won each of their last four Premier League home games against Manchester United, the longest home winning run against them by any side in the competition.
– Manchester United are winless in their last six Premier League games against Arsenal (D1 L5) – they’ve never gone seven in a row without a win against the Gunners in their league history.
– Arsenal’s last two Premier League games have both finished 0-0, with West Ham in December 2015 the last team to have three consecutive goalless draws.
– Since the departure of Ruben Amorim, Manchester United rank first in the Premier League for xG (4.81), shots attempted (41) and shots on target (17) and have the best xG differential (+4.12) and best shot difference (+27).
– Arsenal haven’t faced a single shot on target in any of their last two Premier League matches, the fifth time this season they’ve stopped their opponents from having one.
– Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has won 67% of his 12 Premier League games against Manchester United (W8 D2 L2), the highest win rate of any manager to face them at least five times.
– Michael Carrick’s first and only Premier League victory in his previous stint as Manchester United manager came against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal – a 3-2 win at Old Trafford in December 2021.
– Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has created the most chances in the Premier League this season (62), while he also has the most assists (9). He ranks first for chances created both in open play (40) and from set plays (22).
Arsenal v Man Utd predictions
This would have looked a shoe-in for Arsenal earlier in the season when Amorim was determined to knock square pegs into round holes by playing three at the back.
But suddenly the appeal of backing the Gunners to win this at 4/7 is much diminished.
That’s partly due to United’s immediate upturn under Carrick and key right-hand man Steve Holland but also reflects Arsenal’s less then convincing displays in the 0-0s against both Liverpool and Forest.
The draw is as big as 10/3 and that looks worth a play.
If United are to leave the Emirates with something, Bruno Fernandes is almost certain to be involved.
The United skipper has had five goal involvements in his last nine games against Arsenal and his numbers this season are excellent.
He has three goals in his last six matches and sits top of the Premier League assists charts with nine, two more than anyone else.
The bet to have is Fernandes to score or assist at 11/5.
