Dating back from 1976 to the present day we have a collection of Arsenal v Manchester United videos on the Arsenal History Society Website. It’s completely free, and hopefully will act as a nice warm up to Thursday night’s dramas.
You can find the Arsenal v Man United videos index here
But to consider the games against Manchester United in the past – they are one of the very few teams who through history have got the better of us. For while we have won 85 games, they have won 99. 50 games have been drawn.
This rare appearance of Arsenal being beaten more by a team, than we have beaten them, comes in part through a dreadful run between 2009 and 2014. And painful though it is I’m setting the whole set of horrible details out below…
15 games with just one win, and including the horriblest of horrible days, the 8-2 thrashing.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Apr 2009 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Champions League |
| 5 May 2009 | Arsenal v Manchester United | L | 1-3 | Champions League |
| 16 May 2009 | Manchester United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 29 Aug 2009 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 31 Jan 2010 | Arsenal v Manchester United | L | 1-3 | Premier League |
| 13 Dec 2010 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 12 Mar 2011 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 1 May 2011 | Arsenal v Manchester United | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 28 Aug 2011 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 8-2 | Premier League |
| 22 Jan 2012 | Arsenal v Manchester United | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 3 Nov 2012 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 28 Apr 2013 | Arsenal v Manchester United | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 10 Nov 2013 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 12 Feb 2014 | Arsenal v Manchester United | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 22 Nov 2014 | Arsenal v Manchester United | L | 1-2 | Premier League |
But it is interesting to know that following the 8-2 defeat, in the next 17 games we won 12, lost 2 and drew 3. So although we could all have done without the 8-2, by 19 November we had a positive goal difference once more and were back in the European qualification places by being in sixth.
In fact we finished that season in third with a plus 25 goal difference which is something I suspect most of us would quite happily take this time around.
And indeed although in recent years we have not handed out a reversal of their 2009 to 2014 run against us, between December 2018 and January 2021 we played seven and lost just one against them, and that was in the FA Cup.
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Dec 2018 | Manchester United v Arsenal | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 25 Jan 2019 | Arsenal v Manchester United | L | 1-3 | FA Cup |
| 10 Mar 2019 | Arsenal v Manchester United | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 30 Sep 2019 | Manchester United v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 1 Jan 2020 | Arsenal v Manchester United | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 1 Nov 2020 | Manchester United v Arsenal | W | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 30 Jan 2021 | Arsenal v Manchester United | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
As we have seen in a recent article, Manchester United are in a dire run of form at the moment – with the last six games table having them in 18th and Arsenal in 4th. They have indeed won just one, drawn one and lost four in those last six. That places them just one point above Newcastle in the “last six” table.
And as for Manchester United it is not a case that in recent years they always end up above us. In 2018/19 for example, we were sad to end up fifth, but Manchester United must have been even more disappointed to come in sixth.
In the past ten years they have won the league once, the FA Cup once, the League Cup once, and the Europa League once, making a grand total of four trophies. Meanwhile we have won the FA Cup four times. So four all. Liverpool, by way of comparison, have won three trophies.
More tomorrow.
Re the 8-2 game, I recall that Howard Webb was in their line-up on the day.
Jenkinson was sent off, further depleting an under-strength Arsenal side. (11 v 12 is hard enough)
Also, Van Persie missed a penalty, – either because it was such an unfamiliar and unexpected event Arsenal, or perhaps because he wanted to endear himself to SAF.
Just before half-time the commentator says, “if the ref sees that, then has to give a penalty”. Wtf is the VAR ref there for?!