Manchester United vs Arsenal 01/10/19

1 October 2019

Arsenal travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United desperately looking to defy a disappointing Premier League (PL) H2H record at this venue in the 21st century (W2, D6, L12).

Both of United’s PL wins have come at home and have seen them pick up a first-half lead and beat their rivals to nil. But, both of their league defeats have witnessed precisely two goals in their net, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men bag a total of one. The Red Devils have endured mixed fortunes in their last five PL H2Hs with Arsenal (W2, D1, L2), with three of those clashes featuring over 2.5 goals and seeing both teams score. Such record means nothing here, as United last lost a PL home H2H in 2006, winning eight of 12 home H2Hs ever since (W8, D4). A potential worry for Solskjaer is that Arsenal scored at least one goal in their last five PL visits here while his side kept just three clean sheets in 12 PL home outings since the turn of the year.

On the other hand, the visitors are unbeaten in their last three PL fixtures (W1, D2). None of those games has been short of entertainment, with both draws in that period ending with the same 2-2 scoreline, with the only victory seeing Arsenal beat the newly-promoted Aston Villa 3-2 at home. Typically for Arsenal, they’ve managed just one blank sheet this term, allowing over 1.5 match goals four times already. What’s more, the Gunners have prevented their rivals from scoring only once in their previous six PL trips, conceding 2+ goals four times along the way. Unai Emery’s men are unlikely to overcome their defensive struggles here, as they last walked away from Old Trafford with a clean slate in 2009.