After years of sh*tting the bed at Old Trafford, Arsenal have started to assert a level of dominance over Manchester United that most of us haven’t experienced in our lifetime.
As the club reported today, the Gunners stand on the verge of becoming the first team to beat the Red Devils five times in a row in the Premier League.
That said, January’s FA Cup defeat on penalties is proof that when these two sides meet, anything can happen. On their day, they’re both as erratic—and infuriating—as each other.
Throw in a raft of absentees – Arsenal are still missing four attackers, while United have 10 players sidelined through injury or suspension – and trying to predict what will happen on Sunday feels like a mug’s game.
In his pre-match press conference, Mikel Arteta was asked about United’s ability to pull a result out of the bag when many have written them off.
“There’s a history of that at the football club – the players they have, the club that they have.
“Watching the [Europa League] game last night against Real Sociedad, it became very clear that they’re very capable of putting a really strong performance in and beat you on the day. We know the difficulty of the match and that’s what we’re preparing for.”
Having drawn blanks in their two previous games, most expected Arsenal to struggle in front of goal against PSV Eindhoven. Instead, the Gunners tore up the script, sticking seven past the Dutch side to all but book their place in the quarter-finals.
“It was a great night for us in an important competition we have a lot of hope in,” reflected Arteta.
“The manner of the way we did it lifted everybody, but that is in the past unfortunately. It is about what we do today, the preparation for tomorrow and trying to replicate a great performance.”
For all the goals on Tuesday, Arteta warned that things might have panned out very differently had PSV converted an early chance or if the referee had been a bit harsher.
“The way the game could’ve gone, they could’ve scored [first]. We were in total control of the game but in one action, they had a big chance and hit the crossbar. That could’ve changed the game.
“If Myles [Lewis-Skelly] got sent off, it would’ve been a different game, so that’s why you have to understand the context of the game.
“What happened was we were super effective in the box and that’s a massive strength, especially in the Champions League, and that’s why we won the game with that margin.”
Now the challenge is to carry that attacking confidence into Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.
“Yes, it goes through momentum and what the game provides because we’ve been really good in certain games but the result wasn’t coming fast enough.
“But [against PSV] things were coming at the right moment, in the right time, in the right way and that’s very helpful, but every game is different.”
He added: “We need to look at threats from all areas. We lost very important wingers that were providing a lot for us in that final third and we’re looking to explore other options as well.
“The team has this capacity to adapt, we have a lot of players with great football intelligence to understand when to move and why, especially to do certain things. The other day certainly flowed and we saw actions and combinations that are very difficult to defend.”
Even if the title has gone, the scars of so many defeats at Old Trafford means Sunday’s clash will still have an edge for Arsenal supporters. After breaking records in midweek, it would be good to add another at the expense of an old foe.