Man Utd vs Arsenal

vs

Stadium: The Emirates Stadium, London
Day: Sunday, 31st January
Time: 16:00 GMT
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last four home Premier League games
against United, whose last victory was in February 2005 when they won
4-2 at Highbury. On Wednesday, they squandered the chance to return to
the top of the Premier League when they were held to a 0-0 draw by
Aston Villa. And they also lost Thomas Vermaelen, who left on crutches
and could be replaced by Sol Campbell.



United beat Hull 4-0 in their previous Premier League game, last
Saturday, and on Wednesday they reached the Carling Cup final by
beating Manchester City. Antonio Valencia and Dimitar Berbatov could
return.

FORM GUIDE

Arsenal last 6 games


Aston Villa - Arsenal 0 - 0

Stoke - Arsenal 3 - 1

Arsenal - Bolton 4 - 2

Bolton - Arsenal 0 - 2

Arsenal - Everton 2 - 2

West Ham - Arsenal 1 - 2



Manchester United last 6 games



3 - 1 Man Utd - Man City

4 - 0 Man Utd - Hull

2 - 1 Man City - Man Utd

3 - 0 Man Utd - Burnley

1 - 1 Birmingham - Man Utd

0 - 1 Man Utd - Leeds



TEAM NEWS

Arsenal
Arsenal will welcome back Cameroon midfielder Alex Song from
international duty for the visit of Manchester United to The Emirates
on Sunday.
Centre-back Thomas Vermaelen has a slight chance of featuring despite picking up a leg problem in midweek.

Howeve, striker Eduardo (hamstring) and midfielder Abou Diaby (calf) are both out injured.

Samir Nasri, who has been out with a hamstring problem, is also back in
contention while Emmanuel Eboue has returned from the African Nations
Cup.
Robin van Persie (ankle), Kieran Gibbs (foot), and Johan Djourou (knee) are long-term absentees.
Manchester United

Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to recall Nemanja Vidic to his starting
line-up for Sunday’s visit to the Emirates Stadium for what he
describes as “the biggest game of the season”.
Rio Ferdinand misses out as he starts a four-game suspension.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Key Players

Despite the pools of talent in both squads, Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger still keep their fingers crossed that one player in each of their teams stays fit and on on form.

For
Arsenal it is the mercurial Cesc Fabregas who is at the heart of all
things good for the Gunners. At Old Trafford it's Wayne Rooney, on whom
United have relied heavily for goals this season.




Captain Fantastic | Arsenal need Fabregas on form

Rooney has scored 19 out of the 48 Premier League
goals his team have netted this year, while Fabregas is also his side's
top scorer with 11, but the Gunners' goals are more evenly spread
throughout the team.

Added to that Fabregas is the league's top
assistor and has been involved in more goals this season (22) by
assisting and scoring than any other player in the top flight.

Rooney, though, is on hot form with 12 league goals in his last ten games, and has now matched Cristiano Ronaldo's
league total at the club of 84 - and done so in fewer games (179
compared with Ronaldo's 196), largely without the boost of penalties
and free-kicks.

And if Wazza nets against Arsenal on Sunday it will be his 100th in the Premier League, with his first goal at the age of 16 coming against the Gunners also.

But
Rooney often lacks service, while Fabregas does it all himself, and if
United's midfield have an off day, Rooney could find himself getting
frustrated. Fabregas, on the other hand, makes Arsenal tick and doesn't
have to rely on service for his goals - he is the service.


Form

This
season the Gunners have been in unstoppable form at home, winning all
but two of their 11 games at the Emirates, smashing in 34 goals, while
the Red Devils have struggled on the road, suffering four of their five
league defeats away from home.

And Ferguson's side have a
less-than-exemplary record in north London, with just one win and four
defeats in their last nine league visits.

Arsenal have lost just
two of their last 23 Premier League games at home, both to Chelsea, and
Gunners fans can expect to be out of their seats at least twice, as
their side have scored exactly two goals in each of their three Premier
League matches against United at the Emirates.



Rooney-que | Wayne is United's main goal threat

Meanwhile, Man Utd have won just three of their last seven Premier League away games and kept just one clean sheet in that run.

This
will give Wenger a boost ahead of Sunday's big clash, which if his side
wins will put them two points above United with the same number of
games played.

If Arsenal are to prove the only title
challengers to Chelsea this season, they desperately need to take
advantage of their good home record on Sunday - especially since, after
United, they face an unforgiving February with trips to Chelsea and
Stoke and a visit from Liverpool. If they can get through the month
with nine points from their four games, they will fancy their chances
in March against Premier League strugglers Burnley, Hull City and West Ham United.

Manchester United have tricky trips to Aston Villa
and Everton in February, where home wins are not against the odds. They
will need to be at their best to grab maximum points and stay in touch
with leaders Chelsea.

The all-important run-in sees Arsenal at Blackburn Rovers
before a visit from Fulham. Wenger will be confident of maximum points
there. United' run-in is possibly even kinder with visits from Stoke
City and Tottenham Hotspur and a trip to Sunderland, so if Wenger's men are to challenge they need a successful February.


Injuries

Arsene Wenger
is never short of an excuse or two but he can reasonably claim to be
unlucky with injuries. He lost Robin van Persie in November to a
long-term injury just as the Dutchman was banging in the goals, and
this left his team dangerously thin up top following the sale of
Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.

Not
even human placenta could help heal the Dutchman's ankle ligaments,
injured on international duty in November. How Arsenal could do with
his guile and confidence up front, as Wenger has searched in vain for a
replacement; neither the returning Eduardo nor Andrey Arshavin have
been able to fill his boots.

Eduardo's return from injury was heralded as a 'new signing' but the Croatian has struggled to make an impact.

Manchester United
have also suffered with injuries, particularly at the back where over
Christmas they had to call on the defensive skills of Michael Carrick
and Darren Fletcher to get them through a thin patch.



Missing You | Arsenal need Van Persie's goals.

And both teams have suffered as a result, at times goals have been
hard to come by for Arsenal, failing to net against Sunderland,
Olympiakos, Villa and Chelsea, while United's injury-hit spell saw them
drop points to Birmingham, Fulham and also Villa.

Van Persie,
Eduardo and possibly Thomas Vermaelen are the only first-teamers
expected to miss Sunday's clash for the home side, while United have John O'Shea, Nemanja Vidic and Owen Hargreaves out.

Which means The Gunners will rely on their midfield for goals while United, also missing Rio Ferdinand
because of suspension, will need a patch-up job at the back. If
Arsenal's attack-loving midfielders are on form, they could make United
pay.


Experience

It is widely
documented that experience of having won titles is a huge advantage as
the season enters the business stages. Arsenal's squad, although
brimming with raw talent, is seriously lacking in experience of winning
silverware.

The only players in Arsenal's squad who have won a league title are Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Sol Campbell, Tomas Rosicky, Andrey Arshavin, Gael Clichy and Eduardo.

And only Campbell, Clichy and Gallas out of that list have won the Premier League trophy. Clichy became the youngest ever winner in 2004, at 18 years and 294 days.

But does that mean the young Guns will be striving to get their young hands on their first piece of silverware, more so than a Manchester United side who have all been there, and are still wearing the t-shirts?

Only Michael Owen, Antonio Valencia and the squad's fringe players haven't won the Premier League at United as they swept aside all before them in the last few years.

Sir Alex
famously defied Alan Hansen's assertion that 'you will never win
anything with kids' but over the past three years it is Wenger who
seems the most determined to find success with a young outfit as he
continues to favour talented youth over rigid experience.

The recent re-aquisition of Sol Campbell was only Wenger's third signing over 30 in seven years.

The last time Wenger got his hands on the Premiership trophy his team included ageing stars like Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Kanu and Ray Parlour. Now the average age of the team is 23.59.



The kids are alright | Wenger puts faith in youth

Also his youth policy has come under scrutiny. When are we going to get to see the Theo Walcott we were promised? When will Carlos Vela turn into the superstar he is supposed to be?

Manchester United's
squad by contrast has an average age of 26.14, and the first-team still
boasts a number of players over 30, including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes
and Edwin van der Sar. And in the big games, you need your big names,
and Ferguson can rest assured the likes of Giggs and Scholes will step
up to the plate, like they have done hundreds of times before.

Can Wenger be so sure about the Denilsons and Arshavins of his team?

Arsenal's
young stars have time and time again stuttered when it matters. In 2008
Wenger's teenagers blew aside some teams with ease, especially in
Europe, as they rocketed up the Premier League, but often took their eye off the ball losing to Hull, Fulham and Stoke. It is those games where titles are won and lost.

As
the season enters the final furlong, Ferguson will be far more
confident his experienced stars will be able to replicate title-winning
form and give Chelsea a real challenge.

And although Wenger's
youthful team are hungry for glory it is hard to see beyond the older,
more experienced, title-winning squad at Manchester United when it comes to what Fergie calls 'squeaky-bum time'.