Who: Arsenal vs Manchester United
What: English Premier League
Where: Emirates Stadium, London, United Kingdom
When: Sunday, January 23, at 4:30pm (16:30 GMT)
How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on media Sport from 17:00 GMT in advance of our text commentary stream.
Premier League leaders Arsenal are the hot favourites to lift their first English title since 2004, but face an unlikely – and unpredictable – threat from a rejuvenated Manchester United on Sunday.
Even before the sacking of Ruben Amorim as manager, the Red Devils were showing signs of life, having lifted themselves from the 15th-place finish they suffered last season to challenging for a Champions League place this term.
The Gunners hold a four-point lead over second-placed Manchester City, following their win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, but do hold a game in hand, and they were done a sizeable favour last weekend by United, who beat their cross-city rivals.
That performance, under Michael Carrick’s interim management, has lit a fire under Sunday’s match to evoke memories of clashes when the Gunners and the Red Devils were the two teams to be stopped either side of the turn of the century.
media Sport takes a closer look at the highly anticipated – and likely highly-charged – encounter.
Ahead of Sunday’s match against United, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta flagged concerns over their opponents’ renewed intensity under Carrick.
United beat second-placed Manchester City 2-0 in a thrilling derby display, which allowed Arsenal to extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points. Arteta, though, acknowledged that his team will now be heavily tested.
“Yes, with Michael coming in, it’s going to bring new ideas; the intensity rises up – you could see [it] in the Manchester derby with their behaviour and the game that they played,” Arteta said.
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