Facts: United v Arsenal

United have played Arsenal more than any other club down the years. 

The Gunners have not been out of top-flight football since 1919, and in addition to all the league meetings, they have frequently gone head-to-head with the Reds in domestic cup competitions. 

Factor in a Champions League semi-final and the odd FA Charity or Community Shield and the two clubs have contested 216 competitive meetings in total, with more epic encounters sure to come. Here, we assess some of the key moments...

Humble beginnings: It was all a bit different when the clubs first met on 13th October 1894. United, known then as Newton Heath, faced Woolwich Arsenal at the Bank Street ground in east Manchester, with honours even after a 3-3 draw.

Record breaker: Since that first meeting there have been some memorable tussles, but one that still burns bright is our incredible 8-2 win at Old Trafford in 2011, the record victory in the history of the fixture.

The history man: Ryan Giggs has more reasons than most to look back on United v Arsenal meetings with pride. The veteran has featured in this fixture 49 times, a record that like others set by the Welshman will stand for a very long time to come. Of all of these games, the most memorable must be the FA Cup semi-final replay win at Villa Park (again) in 1999, where his stunning solo run and goal clinched a place in the final and kept the Treble dream on track.

Top of the charts: Wayne Rooney and Jack Rowley are joint-holders of the record for most goals for United against Arsenal, with 10 each. Rooney’s first league goal for the Reds came against the Gunners in October 2004, with his most recent a penalty to complete his hat-trick in that 8-2 win in 2011. Rowley, who plied his trade at Old Trafford for 17-and-a-half years either side of World War II, was known as “The Gunner” for his explosive shooting power.

There and thereabouts: Robin van Persie has scored six times in this fixture – four for Arsenal, and two following his move to Old Trafford at the start of last season.

Five times I: In 1982/83 the Reds and the Gunners faced off in the FA Cup and League Cup, as well as in two League Division One fixtures. A 6-3 aggregate win in the two-legged Milk Cup semi-final saw Ron Atkinson’s side get the better of Terry Neill’s outfit, and when the pair met again in the last four of the FA Cup, United went through 2-1. Norman Whiteside lashed the ball home for a brilliant winner at Villa Park.

Five times II: United had failed to beat Arsenal in the Charity Shield and the Premier League during 1998/99 when we were drawn to face the Londoners in the FA Cup semi-final. A replay was required after a goalless stalemate at Villa Park, but when the two sides met again at the same venue United won through after a drama-strewn 120 minute epic that included a magnificent opener from David Beckham, a disallowed goal from Nicolas Anelka, a red card for Roy Keane, a brilliant penalty save from Peter Schmeichel and Giggs’ memorable winner.

Five times III: 2004/05 saw United face Arsenal five times in competition for the four major English trophies. The Gunners took the Community Shield (held at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium while Wembley was rebuilt), but a long unbeaten run for “the Invincibles” in the Premier League  ended at Old Trafford in October when a 2-0 win for the Reds brought the sequence of 49 games without defeat for Arsenal to a close. Wins for United followed in the Carling Cup and in the league, but victory on penalties for the Gunners after a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup final saw us leave Wales empty-handed again.

Across the great divide: Some notable names have made the move directly between the two clubs. George Graham, Frank Stapleton and Viv Anderson were among those to go before van Persie by swapping north London for the north-west of England, while Jimmy Rimmer, Brian Kidd and Mikael Silvestre have all headed in the other direction over the years.

Euro stars: The long-running United v Arsenal drama has also been played out once on the European stage, in the two-legged semi-final in 2009 that saw us ease through 4-1 on aggregate.

In the hot seat: 17 United managers have overseen games against Arsenal, while 21 bosses have occupied the dug-out against us in this fixture. During Sir Alex Ferguson's 26-and-a-half years at United, George Graham and Bruce Rioch (as well as caretakers Stewart Houston and Pat Rice) managed the Gunners before Arsene Wenger began his own lengthy tenure in charge in 1996.