It is arguably the defining rivalry of the Premier League era and, while some of the allure has been lost by neither side competing for the title in recent seasons, this fixture still remains a special occasion every year.

We will take a closer look at both clubs in a short while, but first let's check out the team news...

Lacazette was forced off at half time of the 5-0 win over Huddersfield at the weekend, with Olivier Giroud going on to score twice in the second half, and all the suggestions were that Lacazette would not recover in time for this one. Wenger has deceived us all, though, and leads the line from the off today.

Sure enough, Sanchez starts in the front three for Arsenal this evening having netted in his last three Premier League games to finally begin to show his best form following a disrupted start to the campaign.

Ozil showed his very best during the win over Huddersfield with two assists and a goal in the space of five minutes to help take the game beyond the Terriers, and he has a good record against United too with two goals and two assists in his last four Premier League outings against the Red Devils.

The in-form Aaron Ramsey starts in midfield alongside Xhaka once again, while Bellerin and Kolasinac will provide the width as wing-backs, which could be a crucial area of the field in this match against their counterparts from United.

On the opposite flank Antonio Valencia will, as ever, be looking to get forward whenever possible, while Mourinho keeps faith with the back three which almost let Watford back into the game in midweek, with Lindelof, Smalling and Rojo starting.

The summer arrival from Chelsea once again joins Paul Pogba in the middle of the park, with the dynamic French midfielder having courted plenty of controversy recent by wishing injuries upon the best players of title rivals Manchester City.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is another missing from the squad entirely, meaning that Romelu Lukaku leads the line once more having scored just once in his last 11 games for the club - a far cry from his start of 11 goals in his opening 10 United games. The Belgian has also only scored once in five Premier League appearances at the Emirates, with that coming from the penalty spot in a 3-1 defeat last season.

Martial's strike against Watford was his eighth of the season in 20 appearances across all competitions, which is already more than his managed in 42 games last season. Lingard was also on the scoresheet with a fine solo effort to kill off the fightback, so Lukaku isn't shouldering the goalscoring burden on his own.

Victory would do a lot for both teams, with Arsenal having now dropped out of the top four as a result of Liverpool's 5-1 win over Brighton and United needing to close the gap on Manchester City.

Arsenal are in good form coming into this match, though, having won their last three Premier League outings without conceding a single goal, scoring eight goals without reply in victories over North London rivals Tottenham, high-flying Burnley and Huddersfield Town.

Only Liverpool have conceded more goals than Arsenal in the top seven so far this season, but three clean sheets on the bounce - and four clean sheets in their last six games across all competitions - suggests that Wenger has found a solution to that problem.

The Gunners have a 100% record in front of their own fans so far this season, winning all seven of their matches and scoring 20 goals in the process. Incidentally, only Manchester United can match that faultless home record so far, while only Man City have scored more goals in front of their own fans.

Indeed, Arsenal have now won their last 12 Premier League home games on the bounce, scoring two or more goals in all but one of those. Victory today would mark a run of 13 home league wins in a row for the first time since November 2005.

Even in all competitions Arsenal are unbeaten in 18 matches at the Emirates Stadium, stretching all the way back to their 5-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich in March.

United would relish the chance to spoil the only other unblemished home record in the league, but it is hard to argue with Arsenal's form here.

The Red Devils have picked up 10 points fewer away from home than they have at Old Trafford so far this term, while they have also scored significantly fewer and conceded significantly more goals on the road. If only away form counted, United would currently sit sixth in the table.

Tuesday's thrilling victory over Watford did improve matters, but United have still lost three of their last five away games across all competitions.

The Portuguese boss has failed to win any of his last 11 away league games against his fellow top-six opposition, drawing five and losing six during a run which stretches back to a 2-1 win at Liverpool in November 2014.

Only Man City have scored more than the Red Devils so far this term, and Tuesday's 4-2 triumph over Watford means that United have now scored four goals in a game on eight separate occasions already this season - including six times in the Premier League.

It is hard to argue with their improvement since last year either, with the Red Devils 11 points better off than at the same stage of last season - a huge swing in the space of just a year but one that is proving inadequate simply because of Man City's relentless form.

Defeat, however, could see them end the weekend 11 points adrift, which would surely make next weekend's huge Manchester derby a must-win game if Mourinho's side are to stay in the title race.

The two old rivals have had a long-running feud, with Mourinho at one stage referring to the Frenchman as a "specialist in failure", and it is the Portuguese who has got the better of their previous duels. These two have met 17 times before in the managerial careers, with Mourinho winning eight and losing just twice. However, both of those defeats have come in the last four meetings.

This is a difficult one to call as it could depend on how United approach the game. Should they adopt a classic Mourinho cautious approach then it is likely to be a low-scoring and tight game, but if they go for the win that they really need, it could all be different. I suspect it will be closer to the former, so I'm going for a score draw.

SPORTS MOLE SAYS: Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United

Indeed, Arsenal have only lost one of their last five Premier League home games against United, winning the past two without conceding a goal.

Should Arsenal win again this evening then it would be the first time they have won three successive home league games against United since May 1991.

Juan Mata had given United the lead with a goal 22 minutes from time, but Giroud provided a late equaliser for the Gunners to rescue a point.

ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil, Lacazette, Sanchez

MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Smalling, Rojo; Valencia, Matic, Pogba, Young; Lingard, Lukaku, Martial

It is a dreadful pass square across defence from Koscielny and Valencia quickly pounces on it, beating Kolasinac to the ball. The wing-back then exchanges passes with Pogba on the edge of the box before collecting the return and drilling it through the legs of Cech!

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Koscielny gives the ball across to Mustafi, who has time despite Lingard chasing him down. The defender takes too long over it, though, and Lingard nips in to steal possession. From there is is clinical from United as Lukaku finds Martial, who brilliantly flicks the ball around the corner for Lingard to finish when one on one with the keeper.

Sanchez's ball into the box deflects to Lacazette, who misses his initial kick but then gets the ball back, reaches the byline and dribbles back into the middle. De Gea is diving all over the place but Lacazette bides his time before eventually seeing his shot deflect up onto the crossbar. It then falls to Iwobi, whose blocked shot falls to Xhaka, but his low effort clips the outside of the post!

Manchester United go into the break with a 2-0 lead, but quite how is anyone's guess. Arsenal have created a plethora of chances, with United's goal leaving a very charmed life so far. It has been end-to-end so far in a frantic and thrilling opening 45 minutes.

The wing-back beat Kolasinac to the ball before exchanges passes with Pogba and drilling his low strike between the legs of Petr Cech.

Mustafi was caught in possession by Lingard inside his own half, and that allowed Lukaku to feed the ball into the feet of Martial. Martial did brilliantly to spin and lay the ball into the path of Lingard, who made no mistake with his finish.

Lacazette, Ramsey, Bellerin and Kolasinac have all come close for the Gunners - who created 15 chances in that first half - while there were almost own goals from Kolasinac and Lukaku at either end too.

It is a strange goal in many ways as United's defence all go to sleep thinking that Ramsey is offside. The midfielder has timed his run to perfection, though, and has the wherewithal to knock the ball back to Lacazette when inside the box too. Lacazette has all the time in the world to lash it home with the United defence still statues, and suddenly Arsenal are back in it!

Lacazette breaks into the box and drills a low strike towards goal which De Gea does incredibly to get down to, and he then reacts to make a huge follow-up save with his feet to deny Sanchez! Ridiculous.

It comes from another United counter as Pogba drives forward down the right flank, shrugging off a challenge from Koscielny far too easily and dancing around him on the byline. There is poor marking in the middle too as Lingard escapes his marker, and Pogba plays the ball across goal to leave Lingard with the simplest of finishes.

It is the right decision too as he goes into a studs-up challenge on Bellerin, catching the wing-back right on the knee joint. That was a nasty one.

United were two up inside 11 minutes after a couple of defensive errors from Arsenal, setting the tone for a breathless and frantic contest. Arsenal found David de Gea in inspired form but finally pulled a goal back through Alexandre Lacazette early in the second half, only for Jesse Lingard to restore the two-goal cushion shortly after the hour mark.

Arsenal's hope was renewed when Paul Pogba was shown a straight red card, but there was no way back for the hosts.

Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for this classic Premier League encounter as Manchester United come out on top at the Emirates. I will leave you with a packed match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction too. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!