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Arsenal v Manchester United is always one of the most mouth-watering fixtures in the Premier League calendar, thanks to its rich history of epic matches and the huge rivalry between the teams.
Ahead of this weekend’s latest chapter, we have taken a look back at six of the best wins we’ve claimed at the Red Devils’ expense in north London that are sure to whet any Gooner’s appetite for the big game.
Take a trip down memory lane with these classics:
May 6, 1991
Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
After Liverpool had slipped up earlier in the day to hand us the First Division title, George Graham’s Gunners extended the celebrations by beating United with Alan Smith grabbing a hat-trick to boost his Golden Boot chances.
His first arrived on 19 minutes when he tucked home a Lee Dixon centre, and then on 41 minutes a powerful run from Kevin Campbell saw him tee up the striker to put us in command. When we won a penalty on 58 minutes, Dixon handed the duties to Smith to complete his treble, with Steve Bruce’s late spot-kick a minor footnote on a wonderful evening.
November 9, 1997
Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
In one of the all-time Premier League classics, we edged out the holders to highlight our own championship credentials. Just seven minutes in, Nicolas Anelka picked the perfect time to score his first Gunners goal with a near-post drive, before Patrick Vieira went one better with a wonderful blast from the edge of the box that dipped over Peter Schmeichel.
However United roared back as Teddy Sheringham netted twice in eight minutes to scramble his side level before the break, but seven minutes from time Nigel Winterburn’s outswinging corner was headed into the top corner by David Platt to win a pulsating game.
November 25, 2001
Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
Fabien Barthez had an afternoon to forget as he gifted his international teammate Thierry Henry two goals to help us to victory. However, we were forced to do it the hard way when Paul Scholes scored the opener just eight minutes in, but after the break Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg combined for the Swede to brilliantly dink us level.
Then in the final 10 minutes, Barthez screwed a clearance straight into Henry’s path who rolled the ball past him, and five minutes later the keeper allowed a routine catch to slip under his body and hand Henry an open goal to wrap up the points.
January 21, 2007
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
The 200th meeting between the clubs but the first at Emirates Stadium proved to be one to remember for all Gooners, as Henry once again carved his name into this fixture’s history.
The game burst into life in the second half when Wayne Rooney stooped to head in at the back post on 53 minutes, but with seven minutes to go substitute Robin van Persie fired home a Tomas Rosicky cross to get us level. That set the stage for Henry to head home an Emmanuel Eboue cross in stoppage time to give our new home its first dramatic moment.
October 4, 2015
Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United
A devastating opening 19 minutes saw us blow the Red Devils away as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil ran rampant. The duo combined after just five minutes when the German’s cutback was neatly backheeled in by the Chilean playmaker, and 74 seconds later Ozil got on the scoresheet when he tucked past David de Gea.
The game was virtually over as a contest when Sanchez picked up possession on the edge of the area, squeezed between Matteo Darmian and Juan Mata and blasted into the top corner, and things could have been even better had Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain not struck the bar in the second half as we kept pushing for a bigger scoreline.
January 22, 2023
Arsenal 3-2 Manchester United
Last season saw the two teams serve up another classic as Eddie Nketiah popped up with a late winner to lift the roof off Emirates Stadium. Marcus Rashford’s shot from range had put Erik ten Hag’s team in front, but Nketiah ghosted into space to head home a Granit Xhaka cross to equalise before half-time.
Bukayo Saka fired in a Goal of the Month winner to put us ahead seven minutes after the restart, but not long after Lisandro Martinez nodded in to draw the visitors level. It looked as though the two sides would be forced to settle for a point, but in the 90th minute Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross was nudged on by Martin Odegaard, and Nketiah improvised to flick the ball in and clinch a memorable victory.
Watch more memorable moments against United, including another iconic win from the 1990s and perhaps Henry’s best-ever strike, in our playlist
Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
Every home game, Martin Odegaard gives you his thoughts on the goings-on around the club in his captain’s notes for the matchday programme.
Ahead of this afternoon’s meeting with Manchester United, he discusses attending the PFA Awards in midweek, our tactical flexibility and his excitement at facing the Red Devils once again.
It was so good to be at the PFA Awards in Manchester on Tuesday evening with some of my teammates, Mikel, Edu and a lot of the guys from the club. To be recognised in the Team of the Year was special, because when it’s voted by the other players it’s something you appreciate even more. To have this honour and recognition means a lot.
That’s now three different leagues in which I’ve been voted into the Team of the Year – I also did it in Spain and the Netherlands – so I’m very proud of that. It’s not too bad! But for me, I was most pleased that we had four of us voted into the team. Myself, Aaron, Wilo and Bukayo were all included, so it shows how well we did as a team last season.
I think it’s the first time Arsenal have had four players in there for 15 years. That’s a great sign for the club and the way we are building here. It show we are taking steps as a team, but also on an individual level too.
As players, you can’t vote for one of your teammates so I voted for Erling Haaland for the main award. I think he was the right winner after all those goals he scored in his first season in England. There were also two Arsenal players in the WSL Team of the Year, including Frida Maanum – so it was a good night for Arsenal and for Norwegian football too!
I believe this season we can play in a lot of different ways. We are more adaptable, more unpredictable and can do different things to last season. Last year we played the same system most of the time, but now with the depth of the squad and quality of our players we can mix it up more, and that should be a strength if we use it in the right way.
It’s always a big one against Manchester United, and we always love to play in these games, especially in front of our supporters here at the Emirates. I remember the game here last season so clearly – the atmosphere was incredible.
We’re excited to be back here and we know it will be another big test against United. They have a coach with a very clear idea of how he wants to play, what he wants from his team, and they will obviously be determined to kick on from last season too.
It looks as though they are improving all the time and they have quality players throughout the team, so it’s a very strong side, but we know just how important a win could be for us.
Read the rest of Odegaard’s notes, as well as a host of other fantastic content, by buying a copy of the Arsenal v Manchester United programme either around the stadium or online.
You can also subscribe to get every issue this season delivered straight to your door each matchday.
Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
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