Manchester United vs Arsenal: Why United will beat the Gunners

The Gunners' visit to Old Trafford will be their first since United ran riot and smashed eight past them last August. With United now only one point of the top, they need to win to keep the pressure on Chelsea.

Rooney has a great scoring record against Arsenal, who have a dismal record at the Theatre of Dreams - winning only three times at Old Trafford since the start of the Premier League. Arsenal’s return also sees Van Persie facing his old club for the first time. Plenty of story lines to make this weekend's game an exciting fixture.

 

United’s attack has been firing on all cylinders and scoring freely in recent weeks. However, Arsenal's defence is much improved under Steve Bould, conceding only six goals in nine games. They will be boosted by the return of Jack Wilshere and he and Santi Carzola will be a threat to United’s leaky defence.

Recent outings suggest Arsenal have had a shaky time. A loss to Shalke in the Champions League, a 1-0 win over strugglers QPR at home, and the thrilling 7-5 win over Reading. Arsenal’s record at Old Trafford is poor, in the past five Premier League games between the two at Old Trafford, United have taken 13 out of 15 points. Another positive stat for United fans is this, Arsenal's last win at Old Trafford came in the 2006-07 season, a 1-0 victory.

Rafael and Valencia gave Ashely Cole a torrid time on Sunday and will look to replicate that against Andre Santos. Rooney will look to continue his knack of scoring against Arsenal. He started his career with a stunner against Arsenal for Everton and most recently, the hat-trick against them. Rooney looks to be finding the net after missing the beginning of the season. With all the attacking options around Rooney, a goal or two seems likely for United’s number 10.

For the first time in his career, Robin Van Persie will play against his beloved Arsenal. He is a professional and will play his best, but we’ve seen players sometimes have difficulties against their old clubs. Van Persie has been in scintillating form, scoring nine goals in 10 and I expect him to get on the scoresheet against Arsenal.

Van Persie will want to score; he moved to Manchester United to win titles and beating Arsenal will work towards that. Ferguson knows his players well and United fans should expect to see a strong performance from the Dutchman.

United seem to be clicking despite all the goals they’ve conceded this season. While the goals are flowing, the trick is to just score more than the opponents do. Last year's demolition of Arsenal was a fluke, United aren’t going to score eight, but they will score. A United victory at Old Trafford, after the disappointment of the midweek game, the Red Devils will come away with all three points.

Do you agree with Alex’s views? How confident are you in a United victory? Do you think Van Persie will score against his old club? Whatever your views are we’d love to hear from you.

Stats courtesy of stretfordend.co.uk