Mikel Arteta is set for a landmark match as Arsenal take on Manchester United on Sunday.

Arteta will oversee his 200th Premier League game, becoming the second-youngest manager in the competition's history to do so.

Since the Spaniard took charge of the Gunners in 2019, he has only won one major trophy, but has taken them close to the Premier League title twice, and brought about a period of stability that United would have relished.

In the days of Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, United vs Arsenal was the great Premier League rivalry. 

But in recent years, there has been a big gulf between the teams that used to so often go toe-to-toe for trophies.

And though Arsenal are 13 points behind leaders, Liverpool, after their slip-ups in February, they are still way clear of a United team that will be fortunate to finish in the top half this season, with the Red Devils seemingly destined for their lowest-ever Premier League finish.

Arsenal returned to form in sensational style in the week, hammering PSV 7-1 in the Champions League.

United, meanwhile, followed up their FA Cup exit at the hands of Fulham with a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in their Europa League last 16 first-leg tie on Thursday.

Here, we call on Opta's treasure trove of data to preview Sunday's clash at Old Trafford.

What's expected?

United have lost their last four Premier League games against Arsenal, their longest losing run against the Gunners in their league history.

Arsenal won the corresponding fixture 1-0 last season – they have not won consecutive away league games against Manchester United since February 1979.

Leandro Trossard scored Arsenal's winner in that match last term – the only Gunners players to score a Premier League goal at Old Trafford in consecutive campaigns are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2019-20, 2020-21) and Emmanuel Adebayor (2006-07, 2007-08).

Arsenal have scored in each of their last 10 Premier League away games against United (13 goals), having only managed to score in 10 of their first 22 visits to Old Trafford in the competition (11 goals).

But if United do win, then they will claim their 100th victory against Arsenal in all competitions. The Gunners have not lost to any other team on as many occasions as they have United (99), while the Red Devils have only beaten Aston Villa more (106).

Arsenal's chances of somehow turning the title race on its head are ranked at just 1.4% by Opta's supercomputer, but the model does fancy the Gunners to get back to winning ways in the league.

They are given a 51% win probability, while United came out on top in only 23% of the supercomputer's simulations.

The chance of a draw is 26%.

Mikel's milestone

Arteta will become the 14th manager to oversee 200 Premier League games in charge of one club, and the 39th manager to reach the milestone in total.

At 42 years and 348 days, he will be the second-youngest manager to hit the landmark after Roberto Martinez (41 years, 111 days).

Arteta will be the fourth Spanish manager to reach 200 Premier League games (after Martinez 265, Pep Guardiola 331 and Rafael Benitez 359).

Arteta has won 118 of his first 199, already the fifth-most victories of any manager in their first 200 in the competition (Guardiola 146, Jose Mourinho 137, Jurgen Klopp 127 and Alex Ferguson 122).

Sure, Arsenal have yet to end their long wait for a league title, but they came agonisingly close in 2023-24, and led the way for much of 2022-23, only to be outdone by Guardiola's Manchester City juggernaut.

Arteta has the best win percentage (59%) of any Arsenal manager in the Premier League. He also has the joint-best points per game (1.96), along with Arsene Wenger. His team have averaged 1.89 goals per game in the league. Wenger's Arsenal averaged 1.88 goals per game.

And he has a fine record against United. He has won seven of his 10 Premier League games against the Red Devils (D1 L2), with his first-ever victory for the Gunners coming against them (2-0 in January 2020).

Of all managers to face United at least five times in the competition, Arteta has the highest win rate (70%).

Arsenal have had an untimely wobble in the league, though. A defeat to West Ham followed by a draw with Nottingham Forest has left them well off the pace in the title race, as the Gunners' injury crisis hit home.

In fact, Arsenal have failed to score in their last two Premier League games, amassing just three shots on target across those games. The Gunners last failed to score in three consecutive league games in August 2021, while they last did so while in the top two of the table for each match in November 2000.

UNITED HEADER

United, on the other hand, might have returned to winning ways in the Premier League by overcoming Ipswich Town 3-2, but they then went down to Fulham on penalties in the FA Cup.

Since the weekend of Amorim's first game in charge of United after the November international break, only Leicester City (13) have conceded the opening goal in more different Premier League games than the Red Devils (12).

The Red Devils have struggled at times in Amorim's preferred 3-4-3 formation as their problems continue to mount. In that time, they have faced 25.65 xGA (expected goals against) and conceded 27 goals, with only six teams letting in more.

At the other end, the team have struggled to score though, registering just 19.37 xG during Amorim's tenure, netting 21 goals. And Rasmus Hojlund's wait for a goal goes on, as he has now failed to score in his last 19 games in all competitions. 

Their lack of first-half goals has contributed to that problem. After scoring in the first half in each of Amorim's first three games in charge, United have now only done so in three of the 21 games since.

United are yet to win consecutive league games this season, with this their longest wait for back-to-back league victories since 1968-69 (games 32 and 33).

A penalty shoot-out win over Arsenal in the FA Cup in January had given United a much-needed boost, and if they want to avoid a bottom-half finish, they will need another win on Sunday.

They currently have just a 5.1% chance of finishing in the top half of the Premier League table according to the Opta supercomputer, with seventh (0.2%) the highest they can finish. If they cannot turn things around though, as things stand, they are predicted to finish in 15th (22.2%).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes

Since his Premier League debut on 1 February 2020, only Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne have more Premier League assists than Bruno Fernandes (48).

In fact, since his first game for the club, only Salah (120) has won more points for his team in the Premier League with goals or assists. Fernandes has 108 Premier League goal involvements in 185 games, which have earned United 76 points.

Fernandes has been integral to the side in recent weeks, and proved his worth again last weekend in the FA Cup, despite their exit. Along with scoring their only goal, the Portuguese led all United players in the game for shots on target (three), chances created (four), passes completed (48) and possession recoveries (10).

Arsenal - Ethan Nwaneri

With Arsenal's injury troubles up front in recent weeks, Nwaneri has stepped into the role, providing an outlet for the Gunners.

No player has scored more goals for Arsenal in 2025 than Nwaneri (four - level with Mikel Merino), while his strike against PSV in the Champions League on Tuesday saw him become the third-youngest player to score a knockout stage goal in the competition (17 years and 348 days).

In their last Premier League game against Forest, he completed five or more dribbles for the second time in his last three appearances in the competition (five against Forest and seven v Leicester), and he could prove troublesome for United's struggling backline.