Arsenal vs Manchester United
Not so long ago, there was a time that football games between these two were the defining matches of the English season.
Certainly, this, more than any other game, has been the defining fixture in the history of the Premier League and Premier League betting.
It was two heavyweights slugging it out for supremacy with all but paper thin betting odds between them.
In truth, that had changed by the final few years of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign with neutrals almost feeling sorry for Arsene Wenger, such was the stranglehold United had over the fixture and the silverware.
Fergie’s departure has changed that, although that is because United’s standards naturally dropped rather than Arsenal’s rise to the levels where they once peaked.
However, this latest instalment now threatens to have an edge again given the mutual dislike between the two managers, Wenger and Mourinho.
That history is well documented, and the race for a top-four spot just adds an extra incentive this weekend.
Whether or not either of these clubs makes it remains to be seen and it’s unlikely both will finish in the top four.
But the chances for one will realistically end should they lose this.
After putting together a 19-match unbeaten run before Christmas, Arsenal have lost eight of their past 16 matches (50 per cent), and the uncertainty surrounding Wenger and key players has not helped either.
Yet their run to the FA Cup Final has lifted some of the gloom around the Emirates.
Injuries and fixture congestion are arguably United’s biggest obstacles to a top-four finish (they faced nine matches in April and a tricky test to Spain before this one).
Yet the quest for Europa League success – which comes with a guaranteed Champions League berth next season – provides a more attractive alternative for most fans.
Mourinho is at his best when defying expectations and, like Ferguson before him, has something of a hoodoo over Wenger.
So whether end-to-end attacking or, more likely, a tactical chess match between two men with differing philosophies, it’s all set to be another compelling encounter.
Who knows; perhaps this will be the final time these two cross swords!
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