The games are beginning to come thick and fast in the Premier League with the hectic festive schedule up ahead. One of the biggest fixtures in the English football calendar takes place on Wednesday as Arsenal make the trip up north to face Manchester United.

STATS

• Man United have been very poor in the league so far this season and currently find themselves 8^th ahead of their clash this week. They’ve won just two of their last six in the Premier League and are beginning to fall away from the European places. With two draws and a loss in their last three, they must put a stop to the awful run or Jose Mourinho may be jobless by Christmas.
• Arsenal are thriving under their new boss, Unai Emery and have made a seamless transition into his style of football. They sit 4^th in the top-flight and are unbeaten in the league since the opening two weeks of the season. They came from behind last time out as they beat Tottenham 4-2 after going 2-1 down at Emirates.
• Anthony Martial has been United’s leading talisman in the absence of Romelu Lukaku’s form and with six league goals, the Frenchman is their leading scorer.
• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has become the first Premier League player to net 10 goals this term and alongside Alexandre Lacazette, who has six, they have formed a dangerous partnership.

HEAD TO HEAD

As you would expect with the recent meetings between these two sides, they have been relatively equal over the last few years. Of the last seven games involving both, United have won three, Arsenal have two wins and the other two ended as draws. However, both meetings last term saw the Red Devils come out on top: 3-1 at the Emirates and 2-1 at Old Trafford. There have been over 2.5 goals in four of the last six meetings with both teams also scoring in four.

MANCHESTER UNITED NEWS

A much-needed win for the hosts would see them move into 6^th above Bournemouth and Everton. They have several injury problems as Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Phil Jones and Eric Bailly all face fitness tests while Alexis Sanchez and Victor Lindelof will miss out.

Latest matches: Manchester United

01.12.2018	Prem	Southampton FC	Manchester United	2:2	D
27.11.2018	UEFA	Manchester United	Young Boys Bern	1:0	W
24.11.2018	Prem	Manchester United	Crystal Palace	0:0	D
11.11.2018	Prem	Manchester City	Manchester United	3:1	L
07.11.2018	UEFA	Juventus Turin	Manchester United	1:2	W

ARSENAL NEWS

The Gunners will need to pick up three points on Wednesday to keep themselves in the top four and they can even go into third if Chelsea fail to win. Mesut Ozil may not return after missing the North London derby as Danny Welbeck and Nacho Monreal are unavailable.

Latest matches: Arsenal FC

02.12.2018	Prem	Arsenal FC	Tottenham Hotspur	4:2	W
29.11.2018	UEFA	Vorskla Poltava	Arsenal FC	0:3	W
25.11.2018	Prem	Bournemouth AFC	Arsenal FC	1:2	W
11.11.2018	Prem	Arsenal FC	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1:1	D
08.11.2018	UEFA	Arsenal FC	Sporting CP	0:0	D

SUMMARY

This is a very tough match to call and a draw certainly isn’t out of the equation at Old Trafford. It is generally an entertaining clash and this one looks as though it may follow the same pattern. I expect both teams to score in Manchester and over 2.5 goals to be scored in the match. At longer odds, a correct score of 2-2 looks most likely.