Manchester United vs Arsenal: Tips, Odds, and Match Preview

When the 2025-26 Premier League fixture was announced earlier this year, there was no question that this matchup between Arsenal and Manchester United was the standout game of the first week of action. The Gunners are a true title contender, whereas the Red Devils are looking to recover the glory days that made them one of the most feared teams in Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

 Both teams were among the most active teams in the transfer market during the last few weeks. While Manchester United revamped their attacking line with the arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, Arsenal added depth across the board. The signings of Cristhian Mosquera and Martin Zubimendi were interesting moves from manager Mikel Arteta. However, they’re not the difference-making moves one would’ve expected from these teams in the summer.

Red Devils aiming to open season with an upset win

Manchester United are ready to start the 2025-26 Premier League season and should feel particularly confident heading into this campaign. Even though the preseason results don’t tell the whole story, the fact that Manchester United went undefeated over the course of the summer is an unequivocal sign of progress for the Red Devils.

After a 2024-25 campaign in which Manchester United scored 44 goals as a team, they bolstered their forward line with the additions of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko. These three players netted 48 league goals combined last season.

André Onana has been dealing with a hamstring injury during the preseason, but he should be ready for the season opener. The Red Devils have no other key absences outside of the long-term injured Lisandro Martínez.

Manchester United Injury & Suspension News

All three of their star signings are expected to be in the lineup on Sunday, meaning Bruno Fernandes will likely move into a holding role in Amorim’s 3-4-3 scheme. No key or regular players are sidelined or even in the lineup for this game on Sunday.

Arsenal to start the season with a positive result

Arsenal fell short of the league title in the past two seasons, so they strengthened the side while looking to expand their viewership spectrum. At least from a footballing perspective, the Gunners. After falling short of winning the Premier League title in each of their previous two seasons, manager Mikel Arteta and the Gunners seem to view the 2025-26 campaign as “title or bust.”

Arsenal behaved accordingly in the transfer window, as they improved the team dramatically and should pose a realistic challenge to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. The London club needed a proven striker and signed Viktor Gyokeres, who scored 68 goals across 66 league matches for Sporting CP over the last two seasons.

They also addressed defensive depth by bringing in Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia. As if that wasn’t enough, they added midfield reinforcements with Christian Nørgaard from Brentford and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. All these moves should make the Gunners a team to fear when it comes to analyzing their chances of winning the Premier League title in 2025-26.

Arsenal Injury & Suspension News

Arsenal aren’t expected to entertain too many absences due to injuries ahead of this clash. The long absentee is Gabriel Jesus, though the Brazilian striker is expected to be sidelined for quite some time as he recovers from a nagging injury.

Manchester United vs Arsenal Prediction

Manchester United don’t have anything to lose in this season opener. Things can’t get any worse than they did in their 2024-25 campaign. Given that four of their previous six head-to-head meetings have seen both teams score, don’t be surprised if that outcome occurs again Sunday.

With reliable weapons such as Cunha, Šeško, and Gyökeres all on the pitch, a scenario in which both squads find the back of the net looks entirely plausible. That has happened in eight of their previous 10 league head-to-heads on United’s home turf.

CryptoGamba tip: Both teams to score – 1.69 @Stake