The last time Arsenal won at Old Trafford was 2006, which was settled by an Emmanuel Adebayor goal in the 86th minute. Since that win, Manchester United have fallen into the type of disrepair that the Gunners experienced after moving stadiums and selling off its assists.

Nothing quite as serious has befallen Manchester United, the only major hiccup has been the monumental loss of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Ferguson era seems a distant memory and those feisty encounters between the top two clubs in the land, feverishly contested by the two best managers in the land are consigned to footballs illustrious 90’s back catalogue.

One can safely say that although the teams have been rebuilt and those managerial swivel chairs have different occupants, there is still a desire to gain the upper hand, even if the intensity is not at the same level.

Arsenal’s revolution is in full swing and they have managed to muddle through a period of adjustment successfully and notched up an unbeaten run of 19 games, whereas United have struggled for periods with a loss of form, collectively and individually.

Mourinho hasn’t helped his cause with his verbal assaults on his own players and one can surmise that this is partially due to frustration and partially due to his massive ego. On a rainy Wednesday evening, under the Northern floodlights, the expectations of Arsenal fans were also dampened by a thoroughly negative Manchester United.

They are fast becoming the new Stoke City, such is their physicality and brutality. In truth, they could always slug it out but they also had flair and a dash of style with the likes of Giggs, Beckham and Scholes. This particular version of United was in deficit and players such as the despicable Marouane Fellaini are taking them further away from their illustrious past at breakneck speed.

The heady intensity of the Emirates on Sunday was replaced by an almost dispiriting contest full of disappointing sluggishness and peppered with laughable and embarrassing mistakes.

The Worlds best goalkeeper, David De Gea, who gives the impression that he’d rather be anywhere than soggy Manchester, somehow managed to gift Arsenal with an opener in the 26th Minute. Shkodran Mustafi’s header from a Lucas Torreira’s cross, caught De Gea daydreaming. The Spaniard surprisingly spooned the ball over his head and the line, despite Ander Herrera’s attempt to pull off a Bruce Lee style clearance.

That lead didn’t last long as a resurgent Anthony Martial got the home side back on terms just minutes later. Bernd Leno’s excellent diving save from a Rojo’s free kick was retrieved by Herrera who then found a pinpoint cross for Martial to steer in.

In defensive terms, it was a shocker. At least six players in mint green could have prevented the goal but no one closed the Frenchman down, everyone left it for someone else and the result was inevitable.

Rob Holding and Aaron Ramsey were casualties of this occasionally thuggish affair, both leaving the field with knee and ankle concerns. The losses actually limited Emery’s options and altered the entire direction of the game. Arsenal appeared unsettled and misshapen.

The game coughed and spluttered until thankfully, another goal generated some much-needed body heat by way of jumping, punching the air and clapping. 68th minutes in when Marcos Rojo provided Ramsey’s replacement and former United midfielder, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with the chance to put Alexandre Lacazette through, Rojo’s tried to intercept but managed to take the ball from the foot of the Frenchman and into his own net.

Another classic from the Arsenal book of defensive howlers followed shortly after.
A lofted ball saw four Arsenal shirts scanning the skies but none tracked the ball sufficiently well to clear it once it descended. Lingard appeared through the middle unseen and unchecked to stroke the ball into the net on 74 minutes and that was that.

For me, the game was a disappointing one, full of unnecessary ankle taps, trips, barges and worst of all hair pulling. The barbaric Marouane Fellaini was beaten for pace by Mattéo Guendouzi and resorted to grabbing a handful of the Frenchman’s locks to stop him dead in his tracks.

If this is Mourinho’s new and bold approach, it’s a sad testament to his deteriorating coaching skills, yet it summed up United’s evening. For Arsenal, it’s been a good couple of weeks, still in all competitions and within striking distance of a top 4 finish.

It would be incredibly stupid to think that Huddersfield are going to just roll over when they encounter an Arsenal side at the Emirates that is on a high, having found enviable momentum.

I expect a full bloodied encounter from a side struggling for points and with absolutely nothing to lose. Huddersfield’s position at present is not a true reflection of the quality they have or their footballing philosophy.

Confidence is key and at the moment, it’s in short supply but I agree with a great many others that they have the all the tools to stay up.

They are caught in a dogfight with six other clubs to avoid relegation and are currently just one point above the dreaded bottom three, which will surely encourage them to come out all guns blazing.

Their main problem is similar to a host of other clubs desperately trying to avoid the drop, lack of goals whilst conceding too many at the other end. Fortunately for them, the fixtures ahead only include Arsenal and Manchester United, then it all seems slightly more achievable with games against Newcastle, Southampton and Fulham, all of which are in the same boat.

Kongolo, Stankovic, Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen and Mooy all have quality if selected but up against the big teams, the failure to provide the frontline has crippled the cause. Against Bournemouth, Huddersfield were just short in terms of delivery to make a game of it.

Running your socks off and getting into key area’s doesn’t count the same as goals and at times it was like chasing shadows with a series half chances and squandered chances, that will have filled David Wagner’s team with regret.

Arsenal should have way too much for Huddersfield, even with their depleted options due to injury. The big questions are concerned with the middle and at the back at present.

Will Ozil feature, will Ramsey be fit and who will replace Rob Holding but there is at least some good news with Granit Xhaka, is ready to return and as much as I would love to rest and protect Lucas Torreira, it looks unlikely.

Hopefully, Arsenal can regroup after a tough week against Spurs and a brutal encounter with Manchester United. I wouldn’t be surprised if Emery rotates a couple of fringe players but this is not a match to experiment wildly, although I suspect Emery will resist that particular temptation as much as he can.

My main concern is the absence of form in Alex Iwobi, his contribution has decreased over the last few matches and he must be extremely close to exhausting the Spaniard’s patience with the likes of Maitland Nile’s almost begging for a start.

No doubt Emery must be tempted to make that change for at least the first 45 with an option to shuffle if it’s not working well. I fully expect an Arsenal win by at least two goals after the Huddersfield resistance falls away, let’s hope we are back to the side that tormented and toyed with Spurs.