Simon Barlow’s selections for Sunday afternoon’s clash at Old Trafford include a positive result for the visitors that would make Premier League history.
Although Arsenal could be 16 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race by kick-off, Mikel Arteta says he won’t give up the fight until it is mathematically impossible to catch the Merseysiders.
The Gunners’ 7-1 Champions League win over PSV in midweek gives Arteta further scope to field his strongest possible side in the knowledge he can rest some stars next week for what should be a formality of securing their quarter-final spot.
His United counterpart may shuffle his pack because the more important game for the Red Devils looms on Thursday against Real Sociedad.
Ruben Amorim’s side have been woefully short of firepower this season, a deficiency that has contributed to them losing five of their last seven top-flight games on home soil.
Here are three football betting selections for Sunday’s high-profile clash.
Man Utd v Arsenal tips
Arsenal to win and under 3.5 goals 5/4
Joshua Zirkzee to have 2+ shots 11/10
Under 4.5 cards 31/40
Gunners can bottle up Bruno
Arteta has taken his team to Old Trafford four times with mixed results. The Gunners have achieved two 1-0 wins in 2020 and 2024 but also suffered two high-scoring defeats to the Mancunians in 2021 and 2022.
The lesson he should have learned from those experiences is the need to control the middle of the pitch to quell United’s only consistent attacking threat, Bruno Fernandes.
If the Gunners can keep him quiet they should be well on their way to becoming the only team to record five consecutive victories over the Red Devils in the Premier League era.
Arsenal are still without a wealth of attacking talent as Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz sit on the sidelines, but they still have enough diligent destroyers in midfield to keep Fernandes shackled.
And a set-piece may again be their best route to getting a goal against United with Harry Maguire not certain to feature.
The Gunners were rightly lauded for being set-piece kings when Jurrien Timber and William Saliba scored from a couple of corners in their 2-0 home win over United in December.
Arsenal also had three further opportunities to score from corners on a humbling night for the visitors’ defence in north London.
United have conceded a Premier League-high 13 goals from corners this season, so Arsenal should be confident of ending their six-game dead-ball goal drought in the league.
And it is worth backing Arsenal to win with fewer than four goals at Old Trafford. United have scored only one goal in total across their last four home league defeats to Bournemouth, Brighton, Newcastle and Crystal Palace.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have scored no more than two goals in seven of their last eight league matches.
Zirkzee to be United’s shooting star
One recent positive for United has been the improved form of Joshua Zirkzee, who had looked to be a complete transfer bust only a couple of months ago.
The Dutchman has carved out a role for himself as a link man and progressive passer while also getting off a regular number of shots.
Zirkzee has recorded at least two shots in five of his last seven starts and even managed a couple of efforts in a 40-minute cup cameo against Arsenal in January.
Cup clash was a card anomaly
There were eight cards dished out when these two former title rivals met in that FA Cup third round tie earlier this year.
That high tally was an outlier among recent contests between the clubs and only occurred because of one controversial second-half incident at the Emirates Stadium.
Referee Andy Madley issued three cautions to Harry Maguire, Gabriel Magalhaes and Kai Havertz in the aftermath of some ‘handbags’ between both sets of players as the United defender accused the German of diving for a penalty.
The subsequent 20 minutes of the game plus the additional 30 for extra-time were played out with no further cards being shown, which suggests the sides quickly regained control of their tempers.
The average number of cards shown across the last four competitive meetings of the clubs is 4.4, so the odds of 10/11 about both under and over 4.5 seem bang on.
But with appointed official Anthony Taylor averaging only 3.08 cards per game in the Premier League and Havertz unavailable to inflame the situation again, the man on the whistle should not have to reach for his pocket more than four times.
