Arsenal vs Manchester United Stats: Head-to-Head Record and Recent Meetings

The latest chapter of one of English football’s defining rivalries arrives on 25 January 2026, when Arsenal host Manchester United at Emirates Stadium in London in Premier League Regular Season Round 23. With kick-off set for 16:30 UTC, this fixture comes with significant top-four and title implications, and the weight of decades of history makes the Arsenal vs Manchester United stats especially relevant in framing expectations.

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Both clubs enter this clash as established forces at the top end of the table: Arsenal finished the 2025 Premier League season as champions with 85 points, while Manchester United secured third place on 71 points. Historically, momentum in this rivalry has shifted in cycles, but recent meetings suggest a narrow edge for Arsenal, especially at the Emirates, even as United have shown they can still deliver decisive blows in key moments.

Head-to-head record

The rivalry has been intense and relatively balanced in recent seasons, with slight swings depending on venue and competition.

• Previous meetings: 9
• Arsenal wins: 4
• Draws: 2
• Manchester United wins: 3

Arsenal vs Manchester United Timeline & Historical Context

Looking at the modern Arsenal vs Manchester United timeline from 2023 onwards, the rivalry has been defined by fine margins, tactical battles, and a series of momentum shifts. The sequence starts in January 2023, when Arsenal edged a 3–2 thriller at Emirates Stadium in the 2022–23 Premier League season, a result that signalled Arsenal’s emergence as genuine title contenders and underlined their growing home dominance in this fixture.

The 2023–24 season reinforced that narrative. In September 2023, Arsenal beat United 3–1 at the Emirates, again using late goals to tilt a tight contest. United responded in pre-season friendlies, winning 2–0 at MetLife Stadium in July 2023 and 2–1 at SoFi Stadium in July 2024, but those victories came outside the competitive pressure of the league. In December 2024, Arsenal produced a controlled 2–0 home win in the Premier League, further stretching their strong run at Emirates Stadium in league play.

The cup and league encounters across 2024 and 2025 added further texture to the Arsenal vs Manchester United timeline. In January 2025, Manchester United knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup at Emirates Stadium after a 1–1 draw and a 5–3 win on penalties, a reminder of United’s big-game resilience. Two months later, in March 2025, the sides drew 1–1 at Old Trafford in the league. Arsenal then opened the 2025–26 Premier League season with a statement 1–0 away win at Old Trafford in August 2025, but the most recent clash in January 2026 swung back United’s way: a 3–2 away win at Emirates, decided by late goals from Mikel Merino for Arsenal and Matheus Cunha for United. That result broke Arsenal’s home league streak in this head-to-head and rebalanced the psychological edge ahead of the next meeting.

Arsenal vs Manchester United Head to Head Overall Breakdown

Overall Record & Goals:

• Total Goals Scored: Arsenal 14 - 11 Manchester United
• Average Goals per Match (PPG): Arsenal 1.56 vs Manchester United 1.22

Venue Split Performance:

• At Emirates Stadium: 5 matches (Arsenal 3 Home Wins, Manchester United 1 Away Win, 1 Draw)
• At Old Trafford: 3 matches (Arsenal 2 Away Wins, Manchester United 0 Home Wins, 1 Draw)
• Neutral/Other Venues (MetLife Stadium, SoFi Stadium): 2 matches (Arsenal 0 Wins, Manchester United 2 Wins, 0 Draws)

Arsenal vs Manchester United Last Results: Past Direct Meetings

Here are the Arsenal vs Manchester United last results in recent competitive fixtures:

• 25.01.2026: Arsenal 2–3 Manchester United (Half-time: 1–1) – Premier League
• 17.08.2025: Manchester United 0–1 Arsenal (Half-time: 0–1) – Premier League
• 09.03.2025: Manchester United 1–1 Arsenal (Half-time: 1–0) – Premier League
• 12.01.2025: Arsenal 1–1 Manchester United (Half-time: 0–0, after extra time 1–1, 3–5 on penalties) – FA Cup
• 04.12.2024: Arsenal 2–0 Manchester United (Half-time: 0–0) – Premier League
• 28.07.2024: Arsenal 2–1 Manchester United – Friendlies Clubs (SoFi Stadium)
• 12.05.2024: Manchester United 0–1 Arsenal – Premier League

How Both Teams Approach the Match

ARSENAL: LAST MATCHES

25.01.2026

Arsenal vs Manchester United
Premier League

2:3

17.08.2025

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Premier League

0:1

09.03.2025

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Premier League

1:1

12.01.2025

Arsenal vs Manchester United
FA Cup

1:1

04.12.2024

Arsenal vs Manchester United
Premier League

2:0

MANCHESTER UNITED: LAST MATCHES

25.01.2026

Arsenal vs Manchester United
Premier League

2:3

17.08.2025

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Premier League

0:1

09.03.2025

Manchester United vs Arsenal
Premier League

1:1

12.01.2025

Arsenal vs Manchester United
FA Cup

1:1

04.12.2024

Arsenal vs Manchester United
Premier League

2:0

Form, Season Context and Key Numbers

From a broader seasonal perspective, Arsenal’s 2025 Premier League campaign underlines why they are viewed as slight favourites in most Arsenal vs Manchester United stats models. Arsenal finished top with 26 wins, 7 draws and only 5 defeats from 38 games, scoring 71 and conceding 27. Their home record at Emirates Stadium was particularly strong: 15 wins, 2 draws and just 2 losses, with 41 goals scored and only 11 conceded.

Manchester United, meanwhile, concluded the 2025 season in third place with 20 wins, 11 draws and 7 defeats, scoring 69 and conceding 50. Their away form was solid but not dominant: 7 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses, with 30 goals for and 26 against. Those numbers reflect a side capable of competing with anyone, but also one that can be exposed defensively, especially against high-tempo attacking teams like Arsenal.

Recent form indicators from prediction models further highlight Arsenal’s edge. In the latest comparison, Arsenal hold a 66.2% overall rating versus 33.8% for Manchester United, with Arsenal leading in attacking metrics (56% vs 44%) and a slight edge in form (55% vs 45%). The Poisson-based distribution gives Arsenal an 81% probability edge in goal output versus 19% for United, and the head-to-head comparison metric stands at 85% in Arsenal’s favour against 15% for United, largely driven by Arsenal’s superior Premier League record in this fixture over the last few seasons.

Playing Styles and Tactical Trends

Arsenal’s season-long statistics show a side that controls matches and limits chances against. They average 1.9 goals scored per league game and only 0.7 conceded, with 19 clean sheets across the 2025 campaign. At home, they are even more efficient defensively, conceding just 0.6 goals per match. Offensively, their scoring is well distributed across the 90 minutes, but they are particularly dangerous between 31–45 minutes and 46–60 minutes, where a combined 31 goals were scored in the 2025 season.

Manchester United’s profile is more volatile. They average 1.8 goals scored and 1.3 conceded per match, with only 8 clean sheets. Their goals for are spread fairly evenly but spike late, with 16 goals in the 76–90 minute window, highlighting a strong finishing capacity. However, they also concede heavily in the same late periods (15 goals in the 76–90 minute range), which has been a recurring theme in several of their clashes with Arsenal, where late goals have often decided outcomes.

Key Players, Injuries and Discipline

On the Arsenal side, Viktor Gyökeres is a central attacking figure with 14 league goals in 2025, supported creatively by Leandro Trossard and Martin Ødegaard, each contributing 6 assists. Declan Rice anchors midfield with strong defensive metrics and ball progression. However, Arsenal’s squad is not at full strength: M. Dowman is ruled out with an ankle injury, while R. Calafiori is listed as questionable with a muscle injury, potentially affecting defensive rotation options.

For Manchester United, the attacking burden is shared between Bryan Mbeumo (11 league goals), Benjamin Šeško (11 goals) and Matheus Cunha (10 goals). Bruno Fernandes remains the creative hub with a league-leading 21 assists, heavily influencing chance creation and set-piece quality. United do face absences: J. Zirkzee (knock) and M. de Ligt (back injury) are both ruled out, which trims depth in attack and central defence. Discipline-wise, Casemiro stands out with 11 yellow cards and 1 red in the league, underlining both his importance in breaking up play and the risk of bookings in high-intensity fixtures like this.

What the Numbers Suggest Ahead of Kick-off

Bringing the various strands of the Arsenal vs Manchester United stats together, the pattern is clear: Arsenal have built a strong structural advantage in league play, particularly at Emirates Stadium, while Manchester United retain the capacity to disrupt that dominance in one-off games, as shown by their recent 3–2 away win and their FA Cup shootout success.

Prediction models give Arsenal a 45% chance of victory, a 45% probability of a draw and only 10% for a United win, with the recommended advice being “double chance: Arsenal or draw.” Yet the recent 3–2 scoreline at the Emirates and the overall goal averages (2.78 total goals per head-to-head match in this sample) suggest another high-intensity, tactically complex encounter in which small details — set pieces, late substitutions, and individual quality from players like Saka, Fernandes, Cunha or Gyökeres — are likely to decide the outcome.