Arsenal v Manchester United: Ole’s At The Wheel, Can Emery’s Boys Stop United Rolling?

arsenalFollowing this weekend’s round of Premier fixtures, the pecking order for the Top Four could look much clearer as Manchester United – fresh off the back of a miraculous Champions League comeback in midweek against Paris St Germain, travel south to take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon, with the kick off due at 16:30 GMT.

By contrast, the Gunners must regroup after their 3-1 Europa League defeat at Rennes on Thursday night that leaves their hopes of any silverware this season in grave danger. Unai Emery’s side performed with credit on their last Premier League outing at Wembley. Arsenal should have taken all three points but for a late penalty miss by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the North London Derby, and had to settle for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 stalemate with Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester United took advantage of the Gunners’ slip-up and returned to the Top Four with a narrow, yet highly entertaining, 3-2 home win over Southampton. United had Romelu Lukaku to thank for the three points with the winning goal, just three minutes from time.

Since temporary manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of United in December, the Red Devils have won nine consecutive away outings – including a 3-1 FA Cup victory at Arsenal in early January. It was only the third time Unai Emery’s side have met with defeat at home this season, with only Manchester City taking all three points from the Emirates Stadium in the Premier League.

So, who will come out on top in this blockbuster? Read on for our thoughts in this hugely important clash.

Event Date: 10 March, 2019

Match Odds

After taking the midweek’s results in to a degree of account, Manchester United are being backed with the majority of bookmakers to claim a vital away win in the quest for the Top Four. However, Arsenal are still currently installed as the favourites to prevail on Sunday afternoon at the best available odds at the time of writing of 7/5 with Betfred and SportPesa.

United are as short as 19/10 with Ladbrokes and Coral to bag their tenth consecutive away victory in all competitions in North London, however, Unibet offer a more valuable 21/10 on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men getting the win, which is the industry best. The draw is available with Betfred and Coral at the best odds of 13/5.

United definitely has the advantage between the clubs in recent meetings. Solskjaer’s men are unbeaten in their last four meetings between the two teams, with the most recent league battle ending in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford last December. United also won their last league trip to the Emirates with a 3-1 victory last season. The Gunners have won their last eight Premier League home games, with Wolves being the last team to hold Emery’s charges in a 1-1 draw back in November, to highlight their strength on home soil.

From a betting angle, my belief is that Manchester United would be much shorter in the betting if they didn’t have so many players unavailable through injury, but that does offer greater value on the Red Devils. Arsenal are a very formidable outfit at the Emirates, especially considering their fine run of form, recently. This contest is likely to be decided by a narrow margin, but my preference is that United will just have too much for the Gunners in this game, and the visitors will cement their position within the Champions League spots.

Individual Goal Scorers

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

With 16 Premier League goals already to his name, former Borussia Dortmund striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the bookmakers’ favourite to open the scoring in this game at a best-priced 4/1 chance with Betway. The 29 year old has been a major success for the Gunners since his move from the Bundesliga last year, and he will be an obvious threat for the United defence on Sunday.

Arsenal’s French forward, Alexandre Lacazette is narrowly behind his strike partner in the betting at 9/2 with William Hill and Coral.

One player in particular who is guaranteed to start in attack, barring injury, is Romelu Lukaku, who has found his best level in a United shirt following some indifferent performances under previous boss, Jose Mourinho. The Belgian hitman is a top priced 13/2 chance with BetFred to enhance his excellent recent run of scoring form.

A couple of others from each team to throw into the mix for First Goalscorer calculations include Arsenal’s Henryk Mkhitaryan at 13/2 – who would love nothing more than to score against his former employers. German schemer, Mesut Ozil has regained his status within the Arsenal ranks in recent weeks, and he is worth consideration at 10/1 with Betway.

United’s Champions League hero, Marcus Rashford will obviously be full of confidence following his late penalty strike to oust the French champions on Wednesday night, and the England man is likely to be very popular at the best odds of 7/1 with BetFred.

Paul Pogba, who missed the midweek outing due to suspension, will be raring to go on Sunday and at 9/1 – once again with BetFred – he’s another to keep onside.

Other Side Bets

manchester unitedBoth teams are full of attacking intent, but considering such of the important nature of this game, it could end up being a low scoring affair. I’m heavily going against recent form by suggesting very few goals, especially considering Arsenal have failed to score in just two of their previous 22 home competitive matches and United have hit 11 goals in their last four outings away from Old Trafford. The odds of 5/4 with Ladbrokes and Coral does seem quite short for Under 2.5 goals in this game, but it could to be a shrewd offering by full time.

If our previous prediction of a low scoring outcome at full time is to be correct, then we can add to this with the Half Time Correct Score to be deadlocked at 0-0 at the best industry price of 9/4 with Betway.

Our Correct Score offering is for a narrow 1-0 away win for Manchester United. This outcome can be taken at the best industry price of 12/1 with Betfred. United have improved significantly in all areas of the pitch under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and they can get the narrow margin of victory here.

Best Bets:

  • Manchester United to Win the Match at 21/10 with Unibet
  • Under 2.5 Goals in the Match at 5/4 with Ladbrokes
  • Arsenal 0-1 Manchester United Full-Time result at 12/1 with BetFred.