Manchester United v Arsenal Premier League preview: How to watch, analysis, & available players
Sounds familiar?
For the first time in 36 years, and only the second time ever, the two English giants will kick off their domestic league campaigns against each other in a mouthwatering start to the 2025-26 Premier League calendar.
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The then Alex Ferguson's side ran out 4-1 winners that day: what would current boss Ruben Amorim give for a repeat result come Sunday? A total overhaul of the front three — Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko — and an undefeated pre-season have provided optimism ahead of a campaign that simply has to be better than last year's record-low 15th-place finish in the Premier League.
For Arsenal, victory at Old Trafford would lay down the perfect marker in their latest bid to end a 20 year-wait for the Premier League crown. An extensive summer spending spree, headlined by the long-awaited capture of striker Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP, is still ongoing as Mikel Arteta looks to go one better after finishing second for the last three seasons.
UK coverage will begin on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 4pm ahead of a 4:30pm BST kick off at Old Trafford on Sunday, August 17.
Fans in the United States can follow the action on Fubo (Save $20), Peacock, NBC, Telemundo or SiriusXM FC, with the match set to begin at 11:30pm ET/8:30am PT.
Few Premier League managers were more wedded to a single setup than Amorim and his trademark 3-4-2-1 last season, with United's seven in-game formation changes the lowest of any side. Yet in Mbeumo and Cunha, the Portuguese coach now has the chance to reinvigorate his dual No 10 system with two proficient ball carriers.
As Amorim has looked to move United away from the transition-heavy style that has marked the post-Ferguson era towards a more controlled approach, their expected goals against has dropped considerably (from 70.1 in 2023-24 to 55.1). Yet their struggles with ball progression have endured, as explained by The Athletic's Conor O'Neill.
Such difficulties could be alleviated by the increased availability of Leny Yoro — who impressed throughout pre-season — yet an historic inability to stop opponents breezing through central areas could stymie their hopes of a return to glory.
It is an area that Arsenal could well look to exploit on Sunday with the addition of the press-resistant Martin Zubimendi already looking at ease alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
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The Spanish midfielder can help to alleviate an over-reliance on attacking down the right-hand side (43 per cent of attacking touches in the right third was the highest in the league last season), and with the arrival of powerful runner Gyokeres offering Arteta's side an increased ability to go vertical at greater pace, they may have a new route to success.
Don't be surprised to see Nicolas Jover prowling the Old Trafford technical area Sunday.
No team could match Arsenal's 17 set-piece goals or expected goals (xG) from corners last season and, if pre-season is anything to go by, Jover has been back in the lab during the summer.
Christian Norgaard nodded home his first Gunners goal against Villarreal after a flurry of Arsenal shirts flew forward to give him the freedom of N7 at the back post, while another routine test against Spurs saw five players beginning their runs from the edge of the box.
Two goals conceded from corners handed Amorim his first defeat in English football at the Emirates last season. It puts huge responsibility on the shoulders — and head — of Yoro and Co to stop history from repeating itself.
Manchester United
Andre Onana — Hamstring (doubtful
Noussair Mazraoui — Knock (doubtful)
Joshua Zirkzee — Knock (doubtful)
Lisandro Martinez
Arsenal
Leandro Trossard — Groin (doubtful)
Gabriel Jesus
Neither side will be keen to see the momentum of productive summers derailed by defeat to a bitter rival.
There is little to separate the intensity of healthy optimism among either fanbase heading into the new campaign. In The Athletic's annual hope-o-meter poll, United and Arsenal supporters sat 5th (86 per cent of respondents optimistic) and 7th (84 per cent) respectively following extensive recruitment in key areas.
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Afforded the extenuating circumstances of arriving 11 games into last season, Amorim has overseen a transfer outlay already upwards of £200 million — with a Carlos Baleba-sized potential addition to that bill still being explored — and so will be under far more immediate scrutiny this time around to prove his project has legs.
Having been parachuted in from a triumphant reign at Sporting, Amorim knows how quickly moods can change, and meetings with Manchester City and Chelsea before September ends only further raise the stakes on starting strongly.
After a window of remedying key issues — cover for Bukayo Saka and a new left-side option in Noni Madueke, a prized holding midfield in Zubimendi, and a new frontman in Gyokeres — Arteta believes he has all the tools needed to end his side's runner-up streak.
(Top image of Ruben Amorim:)
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