Arsenal and Manchester United is a fixture that largely defined the Premier League for over a decade. It doesn't quite have the same power now that it did at the turn of the century but make no mistake – this is one of the biggest games there is.

Especially with what the two teams want to achieve this season. Each want to start quickly and be the side (or one of the sides?) to compete with Manchester City at the top this season. Winning against their old rival would be an ideal jumpstart to that dream.

So what can we expect? This is one that goes back a long, long time in English football, to a time when neither were actually called Arsenal or Manchester United. We at Football FanCast have look at what's come before.

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's the head-to-head record?

These two teams first met all the way back in 1894. Arsenal were 'Woolwhich Arsenal' at the time, while Manchester United were 'Newton Heath'. In fact, we wouldn't see the first 'Arsenal vs Manchester United' fixture until 1920.

To make things feel even more unusual, their first 20 meetings all came in the old Second Division. This was far from the massive game that it is today.

But there have been plenty of meetings since. They've competed 239 times over the years – United haven't faced anyone as often as that, while the Gunners have only faced Liverpool that often (also, strangely, 239 times).

And who comes out on top after all of that? It's United – just. They've won 99 of the 239 fixtures, to Arsenal's 86. They'll be going for no.100 this weekend, then.

Arsenal wins

86

Draws

53

Man United wins

99

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's the record at Arsenal?

113 of these fixtures have come at Arsenal – which includes Highbury and the Emirates, of course. As you'd expect, the Gunners boast the superior record there.

62 of the games have been Arsenal wins, meaning they do have a win-rate above 50%. They've also scored a whopping 218 goals, so not quite two per game but not exactly far off. It's worth pointing out that United have also scored plenty in away fixtures, though, with 139. It means that, for whatever reason, there have been a lot more goals at Arsenal than at United in this fixture.

United have translated those goals into a reasonable number of wins, too. 31, to be exact, while they've secured 20 draws. It's a very solid record and we can't imagine many clubs can boast one as strong as that when playing away at Arsenal.

Arsenal wins

62

Draws

20

Man United wins

31

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's the record at Old Trafford?

The stronger of the two home records does belong to United, which isn't really a surprise given they lead the overall head-to-head record. They've also had one more home fixture – 114 to 113 at Arsenal.

And in terms of wins, they narrowly beat the Gunners' own home record with 66 at Old Trafford. Though, they haven't scored as many home goals, falling eight shy of Arsenal's home tally at 210.

Arsenal, though, have struggled to secure wins at United. They've only managed 19 in the near-140 years of this fixture, and have scored under a goal per game with 101. But they have managed to scrape a draw on 29 occasions.

Arsenal wins

19

Draws

29

Man United wins

66

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's the record at neutral grounds?

Given the standing of these two clubs, it's probably not a shock that they've had quite a few meetings on neutral grounds. They are the two leading FA Cup winners, after all.

Six of these have been in the Community Shield – again, not really a shock. Arsenal boast the best record in that particular competition, with four wins to United's two. However, both of the latter came through penalty shoot-outs.

The other six have all come in the FA Cup. The first was in the 1979 final, which Arsenal won 3-2 on a dramatic day. They'd then meet in a semi-final four years later – United won that one 2-1.

It would be another 16 years before they met in another FA Cup semi-final and it's an all-time famous one. United and Arsenal drew 0-0 after extra-time in 1999, forcing a replay. That one was heading towards a draw after extra-time, too, only for Ryan Giggs to score a spectacular goal and send United into the final, where they'd complete one step of their historic Treble.

Fast-forward to 2004 and they met in another semi-final, with United again coming out on top (1-0). The following year, the two sides would play out one of the worst FA Cup finals of all-time, finishing 0-0 before the Gunners won the cup on penalties.

Arsenal wins

6

Draws (forced replay)

1

Man United wins

5

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's their Premier League record?

This has been an ever-present fixture in the Premier League, of course, and consistently one of the biggest. Both teams have fought towards the top of the table for 30 years now – and that means their record in the Premier League years is relatively even.

United do have a stronger record, however, as you'd expect. They've won 26 of the 62 games, so not exactly a dominant return. Arsenal have won 18, while the two sides have also drawn 18 times.

And, because, it's the Premier League, we can put those numbers into points for you. Out of a possible 186 points, United have picked up 96, while the Gunners have 72.

Arsenal wins

18

Draws

18

Man United wins

26

Arsenal vs Manchester United: Which team has the most goals?

There have been an awful lot of goals across this fixture – exactly 700. It means we're falling just shy here of an average of three goals per game across the 239 fixtures (2.93, if you want a number).

There's no runaway scorer here, either, and the two clubs are about as well-matched as it gets across this number of games. United have 362 goals in 239 games, Arsenal have 338. So again, another United win there, but not a dominant return.

However, the incredible goal return notably slows down in the Premier League era. United boast 87 goals in 62 PL meetings, Arsenal have 70. That creates an average of 2.53, which is a fair drop-off – but that's probably to be expected when these two have been as good as they have been for that long.

Arsenal goals

338

Man United goals

362

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's Arsenal's biggest win?

You have to go back a very long time to find Arsenal's biggest win in this fixture. It happened in an FA Cup in 1937 – a season that is up there with the worst in United's history.

They were relegated in the campaign, while Arsenal finished third in the First Division. To make matters worse, Manchester City would finish as champions for the very first time in their history.

We can't imagine you're overly familiar with the goalscorers in the 5-0 but here they are anyway: Robert Trimming Davidson, Cliff Bastin, Ted Drake, Alfred Kirchen, and an Own Goal.

Nearly a century later, Arsenal haven't actually found a way to inflict that level of misery on United. Other than beating them in cup finals, of course.

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What's United's biggest win?

We're not going nearly as far back for this one. In fact, several of the players on that day are still active in the Premier League.

It happened in August 2011 at Old Trafford as United smashed Arsenal 8-2. The summer, to that point, had been a nightmare for the Gunners as they lost Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri to Man City, while, more importantly, Cesc Fabregas left for Barcelona.

They would go out and find five more signings after the drubbing (including Mikel Arteta) but going into this one, Arsenal looked poor on paper. United made things look even worse.

Looking back, though, the most shocking thing here is just how average United's team looks. They won 8-2 with a midfield of Ashley Young, Nani, Anderson and Tom Cleverley. They had Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and a young Chris Smalling at the back. They did have Wayne Rooney, at least.

Danny Welbeck, Young and Rooney all scored to make it 3-0 before Theo Walcott pulled on back right before half-time. It only got worse after half-time, though, as Rooney, Nani and Park Ji-Sung scored three in six minutes to make it 6-1 on 70. Robin van Persie (who jumped ship after this season) pulled another back on 74 but Rooney and Young each grabbed another to round it out.

Arsenal vs Manchester United: What is the recent history?

The recent history looks pretty poor for United. Of that last 10 Premier League meetings, they've only won two – 3-2 and 3-1 in their last two home fixtures. Arsenal, on the other hand, have won five, with three draws.

Perhaps tellingly, the last two seasons have been very similar. They've each won their home games, both 3-1 and 3-2. It feels like there's a real balance between the two at the moment, at leas when they're facing one another.

And so with that in mind, you'd have to back Arsenal in the upcoming fixture, simply because they're at home. And they'll probably score three, if things are extra predictable.

Arsenal vs Manchester United: How have they started the season?

Arsenal haven't started the season in the form they'd have hoped for. They are one of six teams yet to lose a game in the Premier League, but they have also been scraping by over the first three games.

A 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at home wasn't a dream start, but they did get the points. They then beat Crystal Palace 1-0 away to maintain a perfect record. However, a late equaliser cost them two points at home to Fulham, who also played the final 10 minutes with 10 men.

United haven't been particularly good, either, and sit one point behind Arsenal on six. They have lost a game, though, as Tottenham Hotspur beat them fairly comfortably at home. Other than that, they did beat Wolves 1-0 on the opening weekend, but perhaps should have conceded a late penalty. A 3-2 win over 10-man Nottingham Forest – having gone 2-0 down inside five minutes – sent mixed messages, too.

Arsenal vs Manchester United: When is it?

Arsenal will host Manchester United on Sunday, September 3rd at 16:30 UK time. It's a game where both teams are desperate for a statement win that could steady the course after a rocky start to the campaign.

That said, each have won two of their opening games and sit in decent positions. Their wins just haven't been all that convincing and a win in this one would feel like a strong statement from either side.

So you can expect a big-match feel for this one, as usual. A win feels fairly vital already and we fully expect both teams to go all-out to find it.