PL Collection: United's best games v Arsenal

Tuesday 07 June 2022 09:00

Ahead of the 2022/23 fixtures being released on 16 June, we're diving into the Premier League Collection on ManUtd.com and the United App and showing you extended highlights of some classic games against next season's 19 opponents - starting with Arsenal.

The North London outfit are one of the Premier League's most successful clubs across the competition's 30-year history when it comes to both the number of titles they have won - three - and their all-time points tally of 2,141, which is bettered only by United's 2,366.

It's stats like that which help to explain why there have been so many electric encounters between the Reds and the Gunners but there have also been some colossal characters, serving up individual duels such as Roy Keane versus Patrick Vieira, Cristiano Ronaldo against Ashley Cole and of course, Sir Alex Ferguson's managerial mind games with Arsene Wenger.

In the first video we have selected, it's Dwight Yorke who comes to the fore in a one-sided contest from 2000/01 when, for the third campaign in a row, United finished as champions and Arsenal were runners-up.
United 6 Arsenal 1 Video

United 6 Arsenal 1

25 February 2001: A true Premier League classic as the rampant Reds took Arsenal apart at Old Trafford.

UNITED 6 ARSENAL 1 (2000/01)
It may have only been late February but the title race was as good as over after this Reds romp at Old Trafford - possibly even by half-time when Sir Alex's men were 5-1 up and Yorke had already done enough damage to take home the matchball. The Tobagonian ruthlessly exposed the frailties in Arsene Wenger's back five to score in the third, 18th and 22nd minutes and swat aside any concerns that may have arisen when Thierry Henry briefly established parity at 1-1. Roy Keane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were United's other scorers before the break; Teddy Sheringham making it six in the 90th minute just added insult to injury (time).
ARSENAL 2 UNITED 4 (2004/05)
In a fiery encounter preceded by Keane's famous "I'll see you out there" tunnel rant at Vieira, it was the Highbury hosts who led at the break, courtesy of a header from the aforementioned Frenchman and Dennis Bergkamp’s strike, either side of a Cole own goal. After the interval, Ronaldo's brace reversed Arsenal’s lead and not even Mikael Silvestre's red card could stop United going on to win 4-2 with a delightful chip from unlikely scorer John O’Shea icing the cake.
Arsenal 2 United 4 Video

Arsenal 2 United 4

1 February 2005: Keane & Vieira clashed in the tunnel before this 4-2 win at Highbury, featuring O'Shea's famous goal...

UNITED 8 ARSENAL 2 (2011/12)
Wayne Rooney was already something of a nemesis for the Gunners when he bagged a hat-trick in this jaw-dropping victory - they were the victims of his maiden Premier League goal, as a 16-year-old forward for Everton, and he netted when United ended their 49-match unbeaten run in 2004/05. But in such a big win as this, Wazza wouldn't be the only star. The first and second strikes of Ashley Young's Old Trafford career were both things of beauty; Danny Welbeck, Nani and Ji-sung Park were also on the scoresheet and the Reds' new goalkeeper David De Gea saved a penalty from future team-mate Robin van Persie.
United 8 Arsenal 2 Video

United 8 Arsenal 2

28 August 2011: United recorded their biggest ever win over Arsenal in this Premier League classic at Old Trafford...

UNITED 3 ARSENAL 2 (2015/16)
Marcus Rashford rubberstamped his sudden rise to prominence by notching his first two Premier League goals in the space of three crazy minutes in the first half. Three days earlier, he had also marked his impressive senior debut with a double but that was against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League; Arsenal's visit represented a step up in quality that the teenager simply took in his stride. Even though fellow United Academy graduate Welbeck pulled a goal back for the Gunners, and Mesut Ozil scored late on, Rashford's dream domestic bow ended in victory with the aid of an Ander Herrera strike.
United 3 Arsenal 2 Video

United 3 Arsenal 2

28 February 2016: An afternoon in which a young Marcus Rashford got his first taste of the Premier League...

UNITED v ARSENAL: PL RECORD

Games played: 60
United wins: 25
Draws: 18
Arsenal wins: 17
United goals: 82
Arsenal goals: 66
Top scorer: Wayne Rooney (9)

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