Manchester United were eight points behind Arsenal and 11 behind fourth-placed Chelsea when Solskjaer was brought in as Mourinho’s successor a week before Christmas.They now occupy the final Champions League qualification berth, one point better off than Arsenal and two in front of Chelsea, who have a game in hand to play.It is not just in the Premier League that Solskjaer’s magic has been felt, though, as he has also guided United into the last eight of the FA Cup – beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium en route – and through to the same stage of the Champions League.
The Gunners collapsed, not for the first time under Unai Emery, after going down to 10 men in France on Thursday evening, letting slip a one-goal lead to come out of the first leg 3-1 behind.Emery’s men now have it all to do in next week’s return match, but Arsenal cannot afford to turn focus to that huge tie just yet. The race for a top-four spot in the Premier League remains wide open, though defeat to the Red Devils on Sunday and their aspirations of competing in the Champions League next season will be left in tatters.Last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Wembley Stadium was a positive result on the face of it for Arsenal, who will rightly feel they deserved more out of the match.
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Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Leno; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Koscielny, Kolasinac; Guendouzi, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Iwobi; Lacazette
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw; Fred, McTominay, Pogba; Pereira; Lukaku, Rashford
Head To Head
Arsenal have won two of their last three Premier League home games against Man United, losing the other, which is as many as they had managed in their previous eight.
The Red Devils were 3-1 winners the last time the sides faced off at the Emirates Stadium in the league, though, and they are now seeking back-to-back away league victories in this fixture for the first time since the mid-1980s.Nine of Arsenal’s 13 Premier League victories over United have been in games played on a Sunday.