Manchester United welcome Arsenal to Old Trafford in what history has it as always an entertaining clash between two notoriously good sides. The dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjær put Michael Carrick in as interim manager for a few games. Highly-rated Ralf Rangnick has been appointed as an official 'interim' manager but will watch on from the stands in Thursday night's match against the Gunners.

The Red Devils come into this match after salvaging a point against serious title contenders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It seems that summer signing Jadon Sancho has finally set the ground running and with 2 goals in 2 matches, he may be a threat against the Arsenal defence tonight. Carrick opted to drop talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench, much to the confusion of fans and pundits, but Jorginho's penalty ensured United couldn't take home all three points. Prior to Chelsea though, Manchester United have had some terrible performances losing 4-1 to Watford, 5-0 to Liverpool and 2-0 to their noisy neighbours, Manchester City. 

Arsenal's supposed purple patch is assumedly coming to an end according to lots of people in the media, but why should it be? A ten game win streak was halted by Liverpool as they slid four past them two weeks ago in the Gunners' first 'real' big test. Looking to put the performance past them, Mikel Arteta stuck to his guns and started Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares- who was vital in the buildup to the first goal against Newcastle on Saturday morning. Bukayo Saka made it one-nil with a lovely placed shot in to the bottom right of the net, but was taken off with an injury after falling to the floor multiple times in the second half. Gabriel Martinelli within 90 seconds proved why he may be the substitute for Saka against United with an exquisite touch off a lofted pass and delicately placing it past Martin Dubravka. 

Manchester United lie in tenth place in the Premier League table while Arsenal are up flying in fifth looking to go above West Ham and into the top four for the first time, after the Irons finally dropped points against Brighton in a 1-1 draw which saw Neal Maupay equalise for the Seagulls with an acrobatic bicycle kick in the final stages of the match. 

Previous Meeting:

Last time out was a victory for the Gunners with the only goal coming from skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the spot in the 69th minute. The Gabonese striker will need to be back on best form to repeat this, having been poor recently and missing a string of key chances in the last few matches.

Team News- Manchester United:

Captain Harry Maguire is back after serving suspension after his sending off in the 4-1 loss against Watford. 

However, Raphael Varane is still out with injury and unlikely to return for the next few games.

Luke Shaw is a heavy doubt for the match but will be assessed and Paul Pogba and Edinson Cavani are also confirmed sidelined. 

Mason Greenwood was back with the squad after contracting COVID 19 and could start after being an unused sub against Chelsea and Phil Jones is back in the match day squad should United need him. 

Team News- Arsenal:

Bukayo Saka is unlikely to start after a picking up an injury in the match against Newcastle on Saturday. 

Granit Xhaka and Sead Kolasinac remain sidelined, although Arsenal fans should be able to see the Swiss international return in the next month or so from his injury sustained against Spurs in late September.

Predicted Lineups:

Manchester United: De Gea, Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles, Fred, McTominay, Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford, Ronaldo

Arsenal: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tierney, Lokonga, Partey, Ødegaard, Smith Rowe, Lacazette, Aubameyang

When and where to watch:

The match is being played at Old Trafford at 8.15pm UK time and is being broadcasted on Amazon Prime Video. Users can sign up for a 30 day free trial in order to watch the match. If you are unable to, make sure to check out Arsenal VAVEL and Manchester United VAVEL after the match for a warm down and further analysis.