• Anirudh Menon

Jan 24, 2026, 10:33 AM

The last time Michael Carrick faced Arsenal as Manchester United manager, United ran out 3-2 winners in a thriller at Old Trafford. Things have changed drastically in the years since, and this is a title-chasing Arsenal who will be looking to remain well clear of the chasing pack. With a shot at an unprecedent quadruple still on, Arteta and Arsenal will know a big win here will go a long way.

Carrick, meanwhile, arrives at Emirates riding the crest of a wave generated by a sensational derby win, looking to add another impressive scalp to his CV and help United make a proper late push for the Champions League places.

With much on the line, here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s blockbuster:

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK, NBC in the U.S., Jio Hotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live blog on the day.

Key Details

Kick-off time: Sunday, Jan. 25 at 4.30 p.m. GMT (11.30 a.m. ET; 10 p.m. IST and 3.30 a.m. AEDT)

Venue: Emirates stadium, London

Referee: Craig Pawson

VAR: Paul Tierney

Injury and Team News

Arsenal

Piero Hincapié, D: DOUBT, hamstring
Riccardo Calafiori, D: DOUBT, muscle
Max Dowman, M: OUT, ankle

Manchester United

Matthijs de Ligt, D: DOUBT, back

Talking Points

Can United handle Arsenal’s set-pieces?

You could call them ‘Set Piece FC’ as a form of banter, but what’s undeniable is just how effective Arsenal have been on set pieces this season. Having perfected the art of the vicious in-swinging delivery being either knocked on at the front post or just directly attacked by one of the (many) big men in the team, they lead Europe’s top five leagues in goals from just corners (19 across all competitions). With Gabriel back to full fitness, they are back to their most threatening at set-pieces too.

Facing them, though, are a side that have been almost as good with set pieces this season. In fact, Manchester United’s 13 goals from non-penalty set pieces are second only to Arsenal’s (14) in the Premier League. The only ‘issue’ here is that this came under the work of Ruben Amorim’s set-piece coach and it remains to be seen if Michael Carrick’s staff display the same level of ingenuity from set-pieces. More immediately, they have the task of stopping Arsenal from scoring the kind of goal that gave them a 1-0 win in the season opener at Old Trafford.

What system will Carrick use?

We asked this question last game around, and the interesting thing is that it remains valid a week on. Against the inexperience of Manchester City‘s reserve backline, Carrick opted to use a 4-2-3-1 melding into a 4-4-2 that saw multiple players run at, and run in behind City’s defence. Sitting compactly in midfield and defence (the wingers tucking in out of possession were key to suppressing City’s midfield), they played on the counter, throwing numbers forward at every chance and using the pace of Bryan Mbeumo over Benjamin Sesko in the centre forward role.

What will face them on Sunday is the opposite of that City defence: experienced, with the big hitters fit and firing, Arsenal’s back four (and the underrated David Raya) are the most miserly in the league. William Saliba‘s return to fitness is important: as per Opta, Arsenal have only conceded 90 goals in 118 Premier League games with the France international on the pitch, an average of one every 115 minutes.

Manchester United’s key, as ever, will remain at the feet of Bruno Fernandes. The United captain is first for chances created both in open play (40) and from set pieces (22) in the league despite playing much of it in a deep-lying midfield position, and a return to his more natural #10 role merely boosts his incredible threat. It’s no accident that United rank first in the Prem in terms of xG (4.81), shots attempted (41) and shots on target (17) and have the best xG differential (+4.12) and best shot difference (+27) in the two games since Amorim’s departure. Whatever tactical variation Carrick employs in London, expect the constant to be Fernandes in that #10 role.

Who will Arsenal play up top?

Viktor Gyökeres (9G + 1A in 27 matches all comps) and Gabriel Jesus (3G + 1A in 12) have both struggled for form this season (the latter returning only recently from long-term injury) but Jesus impressed with a brace from the start at the San Siro against Inter Milan in mid-week, while Gyökeres netted a pretty impressive goal too.

This gives Arteta a big decision to make: Gyökeres often struggles against the kind of compact defence United displayed vs City but his hold up play and physicality could bring in the other creative attackers in the team. Jesus’ ability in tight spaces could be important (and he’ll be raring to go after that brace in Italy) but he could be crowded out by the intensity of United’s defensive unit.

Casemiro vs Declan Rice – who will dominate central midfield?

One of the greatest defensive minded midfielders of our time vs. a player who’s playing at a level that will see him involved in these conversations in the near future: what more could you ask for?

Casemiro announced that he would be leaving United this season, and he’ll be keen to bring his A-game to each game, especially the big ones. He may have struggled last season, but this time around, with United usually playing just once a week, he’s looked imperious. Sample this stat: all season, with Casemiro on the pitch United have conceded 15 goals (in ~1300 minutes); without him that number is 21 (in ~600 minutes).

Rice, meanwhile, has been superb all season long for Arsenal. The engine of the midfield, he ties things together for Arteta, and his set-piece delivery is Arsenal’s singular biggest offensive threat. At 27, he’s in his prime and knows that dominating big games such as this will be key to get included in conversations that were once headlined by Casemiro.

The numbers are on Arsenal’s side; but what of fatigue?

Just look at these numbers — Arsenal have won each of their last four league home games against United, the longest home winning run against United by any side in the competition. United are winless in their last six matches against Arsenal across venues (D1 L5). In Mikel Arteta, they also have a manager who loves facing United — he has won 67% of his 12 Premier League games against them (W8 D2 L2), the highest win rate of any manager to face them at least five times.

On the other side, we’ve seen just how Arsenal have struggled to keep up their tempo after a tough mid-week outing in the recent past. They come into this game on the back of two 0-0 draws in the league, matches that showed just how much fatigue was setting in, deep as their squad might be now. United, on the other hand, will be well rested and their reserves of energy could just make the difference in the crunch moments.