Premier League: Manchester United and Arsenal is Box Office Stuff!

Manchester United vs Arsenal

For fans of the English top flight, in the UK and all around the world, Premier League: Manchester United vs Arsenal is an opening day clash to whet the appetite.    

2025 league champions Liverpool open up the new season on Friday night with a home clash against Bournemouth, and then the rest of the title contenders will cross the white line over the weekend and this one is the pick of the lot.    

My SBOTOP mate James, a lifelong Manchester United fan, is hoping the Red Devils can bring back the good times which have sadly been lacking at Old Trafford over the past decade and manager Ruben Amorim has been backed by the owners in the summer transfer market. Meanwhile, the Gunners want to cast off their role as bridesmaids having finished second for the past three seasons running. 

These are always tasty affairs and the Manchester United vs Arsenal betting odds predict another cracker…so buckle up and enjoy the ride folks.   

 

Talking Points

Amorim must stand and deliver  

Manchester United have enjoyed a good pre-season over in the USA, with wins over Bournemouth and West Ham United and a draw with Everton in the Premier League Summer Series, followed by a 1-1 draw with Serie A side Fiorentina. Amorim took over the side midway through last season but he failed to make a big impact with the club eventually finishing in a lowly 15^th place. But with some pre-season momentum and a cool £200m spent on three strikers the manager is under some pressure to turn potential into results. 

The first signing was Matheus Cunha for a fee of £62.5m from Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Brazilian’s goals were pivotal in Wolves’ survival last season and Amorim will hope he can continue to deliver under the brighter spotlight at Old Trafford. And then, after a protracted period of negotiations, Cunha was followed Bryan Mbeumo who starred for Brentford last season and arrived from the Bees for a fee of £71m. And this week Benjamin Sesko made up the trio of strikers when he moved from Red Bull Leipzig at a cost of £73.7m. The 22-year-old Slovenian is a real unit at 6ft 5in, scoring 27 goals in 64 games for Leipzig and the Red Devils will hope he can continue that ratio in the Premier League; but that will be easier said than done. 

Mbeumo and Cunha have already featured in pre-season and Amorim says Sesko could be ready to play a part against the Gunners. Where these signings leave the likes of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee remains to be seen. But Amorim will be very keen that all three of them can register more than the eight goals scored by the Red Devils’ top scorer last term, midfielder and captain Bruno Fernandes.             

 

Arteta needs some silver 

In many ways the Gunners have been miles ahead of the Red Devils in recent years but, since Arteta took over the reigns in 2019, Arsenal have just picked up one FA Cup and two Community Shields, while the Manchester sleeping giant has won the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, arguably a stronger output. The Arsenal manager insists he has transformed the club since he took over but now he needs to deliver some success, open the trophy cabinet and maybe even win the league. The pressure is increasing; particularly as North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur ended their 17-year trophy drought last season, winning the Europa League. 

And, like Amorim, the Arsenal manager has been backed by the club’s owners, with approaching £200m shelled out. Real Sociedad’s influential midfielder Martin Zubimendi arrived at a fee of £51m while Arteta plundered Brentford for their midfield ace Christian Norgaard. Noni Madueke switched from London rivals Chelsea; but the headline recruit came late in the window when Viktor Gyokores arrived from Sporting Lisbon at a cost of £63.5m. The former Coventry City star, now 27, scored 68 goals from 66 games for Sporting as well as 15 in 26 matches for Sweden and Arteta hopes his goals will fire the Gunners to glory.        

 

History 

In terms of the head-to-head Manchester United vs Arsenal results the Gunners have had the upper hand since the beginning of 2020, winning seven, losing three and drawing two of the 12 meetings over the five years. 

Last season, this fixture at the Emirates ended up 2-0 to Arteta’s team but the two teams drew 1-1 at Old Trafford in March as Declan Rice equalised after Bruno Fernandes had given the Red Devils a half-time lead.  

 

Betting Tip

Arsenal are the favourites at 2.00 to win this box office opener with Manchester United at 3.66. 

The most likely score line is a repeat of the 1-1 draw from last season, at odds of 6.50, and I’m sure Amorim would be the happier of the two managers if the spoils are shared. 

   

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