It’s a battle between two of the Premier League fallen giants as both sides are still dreaming of a top 4 place to ensure Champions League football next season, a necessity for clubs as big as Man United and Arsenal. Both sides have had poor seasons by their standards as the hosts sit 6^th with this season being the first in 22 that they’ll finish behind their arch rivals, Tottenham. The visitors are currently 5^th with one point separating them from the Champions League places.

STATS

• Arsenal’s recent form hasn’t been as bad as many pundits have painted it out to be with 3 wins in their last 5 league games, they still have a decent chance of a top 4 finish. They were in their last outing and were comfortable beaten 2-0 by their North London rivals, Tottenham.
• United are unbeaten in their last 25 games in the Premier League but with 12 draws in that time, they’re not in great shape in the league with a handful of games still to play. Their last game was a very disappointing 1-1 home draw against a Swansea City side desperately fighting relegation.
• Man United’s top league goal scorer this season won’t be available for the rest of the season as Zlatan Ibrahimović had to undergo knee surgery after a nasty injury, meaning the pressure will be forced onto the shoulders of youngsters, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
• Although his performances haven’t been great in recent weeks, Alexis Sanchez has been brilliant for a failing Arsenal side this season, his 19 goals are only bettered by two players and have got Arsenal out of several awful situations.

HEAD TO HEAD

The last 6 league meetings between the two heavyweights have been very even. Manchester United have managed 2 wins, Arsenal have got 1 and the other 3 ended with draws. One of these draws came back in November at Old Trafford where it ended 1-1. Both sides have scored in 5 of the last 6 meetings in all competitions.

ARSENAL NEWS

Arsenal are in desperate need of a win from this game and a loss could just put a realistic end to any hopes of a Champions League place and could signal the end of Arsene Wenger’s career. With a few big absences, they may struggle to take anything out of the game. Santi Cazorla has been greatly missed all season while Granit Xhaka, who is also injured, has been serially underrated this season. They’ll need a huge performance.

Latest matches: Arsenal FC

30.04.2017	Prem	Tottenham Hotspur	Arsenal FC	2:0	L
26.04.2017	Prem	Arsenal FC	Leicester City	1:0	W
23.04.2017	FA C	Arsenal FC	Manchester City	2:1	W
17.04.2017	Prem	Middlesbrough FC	Arsenal FC	1:2	W
10.04.2017	Prem	Crystal Palace	Arsenal FC	3:0	L

MANCHESTER UNITED

Jose Mourinho’s side have been much better on the road this season than at home and they’ll want to keep this going at the Emirates. Without their top scorer, Ibrahimović, it might be tough but with Paul Pogba and Chris Smalling returning to the side for Premier League action, their hopes of winning will be massively boosted.

Latest matches: Manchester United

04.05.2017	UEFA	Celta de Vigo	Manchester United	0:1	W
30.04.2017	Prem	Manchester United	Swansea City	1:1	D
27.04.2017	Prem	Manchester City	Manchester United	0:0	D
23.04.2017	Prem	Burnley FC	Manchester United	0:2	W
20.04.2017	UEFA	Manchester United	RSC Anderlecht	2:1	W

SUMMING UP!

Arsenal are in a really bad place at the moment and I expect Man United to take full advantage of that and really look to push themselves into the Champions League places with a comfortable win. The Gunners have showed in glimpses what they’re capable of when they play as a unit but they’ll need to be at their best against a very well-organised Mourinho machine. I can’t see Wenger’s men scoring but I can certainly see them conceding more than one; another bad day at the office for Arsenal.