On Sunday, Arsenal and Manchester United meet at Emirates Stadium to assess whether or not they deserve to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Each team is trying to establish themselves as the premier rival to the current Premier League powerhouse. But they’ll need to keep their form up against the league’s other top teams if they hope to win the championship.
The Gunners’ early season struggles have been well documented; they were defeated by 10-man Fulham at home in their most recent outing, allowing a goal in the 87th minute that effectively ended their prospects of keeping up with the league’s top teams.
United had struggled early on and lost 2-0 to Tottenham on the season’s second matchday. They also had to come from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the second half.
Stats for Arsenal vs. Man U.
The date will be September 3rd, 2023, on a Sunday.
Start Time is Monday, September 4 at 11:30 a.m. ET (or 4:30 p.m. BST or 1:30 a.m. AEST).
The venue is London, England’s Emirates Stadium.
Anthony Taylor, Officially Said
The Last Time We Met: Premier League: January 22, 2023; Arsenal 3, Manchester United 2
Forecast and odds for Arsenal vs. Manchester United
Arsenal has the edge on the moneyline.
Bet on Arsenal minus 0.5 points (-145).
Forecast score: Arsenal 2, Boston 0. (Man U.)
Despite their recent loss to Fulham, Arsenal are still considered heavy favorites. The home squad has won the last four encounters between these two clubs, thus recent history is on their side.
Manchester United’s last victory at the Emirates was in the FA Cup in 2019, and their last league success here was in 2017, again by a score of 3-1. The Gunners have now gone five games undefeated at home against the Red Devils in the league, drawing once.
The best wager is on Arsenal vs. Man U.
Choose the Arsenal minus one goal spread.
BetMGM’s odds are +125.
As said above, the Gunners have recently dominated United at home, and they also have better finishers in front of goal, which has proven to be crucial this season.
United’s struggles completing last season have carried over to the 2023/24 campaign, as new attacker Rasmus Holjund has been injured and unable to contribute. United’s -4.44 discrepancy between their actual goal total and their expected goal total through three games ranks third-worst in the Premier League, behind only Wolves and Everton.
While Arsenal’s key goal-scoring duo of Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah were not to blame for their team’s struggles against Fulham, they should take the lead once more in their home stadium.
Prop bet: Arsenal vs. Manchester United
Bet on fewer than 4.5 complete decks.
FanDuel’s odds are +180.
Even though these two teams have been known to get into fights while playing each other and in other circumstances, the prohibitive cost of a booking in this match is so low that it’s hard to pass up.
Under 4.5 cards is a far more reasonable bet and offers nearly 2/1 odds, while the safe pick is under 5.5 cards at -118, which would require an all-out battle to see fall. The last time these two teams played in competitive action, referee Anthony Taylor was in charge, and he only issued three bookings. Last season, on average, Taylor issued 3.80 cautions per game in the Premier League, putting him towards the center of the officiating crew.
In the Premier League, yellow cards have been more common this season than in previous ones, but that trend will likely reverse once players become used to the new system.
