Arsenal – Manchester Utd

The London team will confidently beat its principal rival.

Despite Bayern Munich, based in Munich, dominating German and European football and achieving a phenomenal number of victories, most experts and neutral fans consider Arsenal, the London club, the strongest team in the world right now. And indeed, Mikel Arteta's team now looks like a flawless football mechanism. Over many years at the club, the Spanish coach has paid attention to every detail of the Gunners' play, starting with set pieces and standard positions, ending with classic transition schemes from defense to attack. Arsenal sign only the most talented and expensive players who fit Arteta's tactical models and fit harmoniously into them. If the London club has long since passed its formative period and is a flawless football mechanism, then Manchester United is at an early stage of this path. It would seem that in the Red Devils' camp over the last year everything was built around Ruben Amorim's vision, but the Portuguese was abruptly fired after another setback. Appointing Michael Carrick as head coach, United's leadership inspired the players and the club's fans, gave an impulse that enabled them to confidently sweep aside Manchester City in the derby. At the Emirates, United players face a different level of resistance and a completely different atmosphere. Bookmakers named the home side the favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.57 on their victory. Arteta, undoubtedly, has long kept in mind the upcoming meeting with Manchester United. Even for the Champions League match in Milan, held midweek, the Spanish coach fielded half of the starting XI. In the league, Arsenal hold a seven-point lead over their nearest pursuers, Manchester City and Aston Villa. Over the last month, the Gunners have managed to win against strong opponents. Among the teams Aston Villa, Chelsea, Inter, and Liverpool, the last one—Liverpool—could not be beaten. Manchester United's win over Manchester City became the first in their last five competitive meetings since the end of 2025. Emotions alone are clearly not enough to compete on equal terms against the world's strongest team on its home stadium.