Arsenal travel to Old Trafford for the final time under Arsene Wenger on Sunday, following the French manager’s decision to leave the North London club at the end of the season. It promises to be a lively match as he goes up against old rival Jose Mourinho, with the duo having plenty of run-ins in the Premier League over the years.
Wenger’s announcement that he was to leave was met with an apathetic response by the Gunners’ faithful last Sunday in their win over West Ham, but of more pressing concern for them, will be the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid that this game is sandwiched between. If Arsenal win the Europa League, then they’ll automatically qualify for next season’s Champions League. They’re currently in a fight for sixth in the Premier League, meaning qualification through the league is very unlikely, close to impossible.
Jose Mourinho is not a sentimental person and despite praising Wenger’s decision to leave the club, he’ll be desperately hoping that his team continue to push on ahead of next season, having already lost out on the league title to rivals Manchester City. This will be the first meeting between the two sides since Alexis Sanchez and Henrikh Mkhitaryan swapped clubs in January and they’ll be keen to show everyone watching their talents.
Manchester United vs. Arsenal Predictions
If this game was to be played at the Emirates Stadium, then Arsenal might be in with a good chance of getting a result. However, they’ve won just three games away from home in the league all season and there could still be a bit of a fatigue after their game against Atletico. Mourinho’s record against Wenger is phenomenal, which makes this one an easy United win.
Manchester United Betting Tips
- Manchester United to win: 4/9
- Draw: 33/10
- Arsenal to win: 25/4
- Alexis Sanchez to score anytime: 23/20
Head to Head
- Manchester United are unbeaten in 10 home league matches against Arsenal (W7 D3), their longest run since March 1961 (17 games).
- In all competitions, Arsenal have lost 13 of their last 18 away visits to Old Trafford (W2 D3), although only one of those defeats has been in the last four visits (W1 D2).
- The Red Devils haven’t completed a league double over the Gunners since the 2011/12 campaign. The last Manchester United manager other than Sir Alex Ferguson to achieve this was Ron Atkinson in the 1984/85 campaign.
- The Gunners haven’t beaten Manchester United in a match in the month of April since 1978, a 3-1 win in a league match. Since then, Arsenal have failed to beat their rivals in four FA Cup matches, five league matches, and one Champions League match (D4 L6).
- This will be the 19thmeeting between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger in all competitions. Mourinho didn’t lose any of the first 13 (W6 D7), but has lost two of the last five (W2 D1). However, he’s never lost at home against Wenger in seven matches (W4 D3).
- 67% of the Red Devils’ Premier League defeats this season have been in matches played on a Sunday (4/6), including both of their losses at Old Trafford (vs. Manchester City and WBA).
- The Gunners have already lost their last five on the road in the Premier League. They’ve not lost six in a row in the top-flight since a run of seven in January 1966.
- After drawing their last three Premier League games in 2017, none of Manchester United’s 13 in 2018 have finished level (W10 L3), winning six of the last seven.
- This will be Arsene Wenger’s last visit to Old Trafford as Arsenal manager. He lost his first ever match with the Gunners at the ground (0-1 in November 1996), while it was also the venue of his joint-heaviest league defeat at Arsenal (2-8 in August 2011).
- Alexis Sanchez could become the first player to score both for and against the same team in the same Premier League season since Wilfried Bony in 2014/14 (who scored for and against both Swansea and Manchester City).
- Danny Welbeck has scored on both of his visits to Old Trafford for Arsenal in all competitions. No Arsenal player has scored away at Manchester United more under Wenger (Emmanuel Adebayor and Sylvain Wiltord also two).
- After a run of just one goal in 11 Premier League games, Alexandre Lacazette has now scored four in his last four, including a brace last time out against West Ham.
Manchester United Team News
The only injured player in United’s squad is Sergio Romero, meaning that Jose Mourinho has a full squad of outfield players to select from. With the club almost guaranteed to finish second, he could give some players a chance to impress between now and the FA Cup final in May.
Possible Manchester United XI: David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard, Romelu Lukaku
Arsenal Team News
With this game sandwiched by two games against Atletico Madrid, Arsene Wenger could select some youngsters. He faces a few fitness worries, with Mohamed Elneny out with an ankle injury, while former United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jack Wilshere not fully fit.
Possible Arsenal XI: David Ospina, Calum Chambers, Shkodran Mustafi, Rob Holding, Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka, Chris Willock, Jack Wilshere, Mesut Ozil, Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
