Arsenal take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
The game serves as the curtain-raiser for the Gunners’ season, and Mikel Arteta will be desperate for his side to hit the ground running to set the tone for the new campaign.
After disappointing defeats against Villarreal and Tottenham, Arsenal ended their pre-season with a victory over Athletic Club at the Emirates last Saturday, courtesy of goals from Viktor Gyokeres, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
Arteta will hope that this astute performance against the Basque side is a sign of things to come, and that they can carry this display into the clash with the Red Devils.
Joe Cole and Peter Crouch make Manchester United vs Arsenal predictions
With Liverpool winning their opening game at home to Bournemouth on Saturday, the pressure is already on Arsenal to respond by claiming all three points in Manchester.
The Gunners cannot afford to fall three points behind their rivals at such an early stage of the season, and the mood music around N5 certainly won’t be positive if they suffer a negative result against Ruben Amorim’s team.
Theo Walcott thinks Arsenal will narrowly beat United, while both Paul Merson and Chris Sutton also think Arteta’s side will secure victory.
Joe Cole and Peter Crouch are the latest pundits to give their verdict on the outcome of the huge encounter at Old Trafford.
Cole mirrors Walcott, Merson and Sutton’s predictions, revealing to Daily Mail Sport that he believes Arsenal will win.
Meanwhile, Crouch disagreed with his former England teammate, surprisingly backing United to come up trumps on their home ground.
Given United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, and Arsenal finished just ten points off Champions Liverpool, it would indeed be something of a shock result if Amorim’s outfit came out on top.
That said, the Red Devils have strengthened over the summer, and should cause the Gunners more issues than they have in recent years.
Mikel Arteta vs Ruben Amorim head-to-head
Amorim has only been in the Old Trafford dugout for nine months, yet he already has a significant history of facing off against Arteta.
The two managers have met five times throughout their respective careers, and the Arsenal boss hasn’t fared particularly well against the Portuguese manager.
Arteta has come out on top just once, drawing twice and losing twice.
| Mikel Arteta’s Managerial Record vs Ruben Amorim | |||||
| Matches Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against |
| 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
Arsenal beat United 2-0 last December, condemning Amorim to his first defeat as United’s head coach.
The Red Devils then overcame the Gunners on penalties in the FA Cup in January, before the Manchester club held the North Londoners to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in March.
Prior to this, Arteta and Amorim met in the Europa League back in the 2022/23 season, with both legs of this last 16 tie ending in a draw, before Sporting CP won the second leg on penalties.
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