Manchester United and Arsenal will resume their historic rivalry at Old Trafford on Monday morning (AEDT) with the London club holding the whip hand for the first time in several years.  

The two teams have enjoyed many memorable tussles during the Premier League era, but it is usually United who have come out on top, and particularly when playing on home turf.

Arsenal have not won at United in seven years and manager Arsene Wenger has enjoyed victory on only four of the 22 occasions that his side have visited the home of the 20-time English champions.

The period between 1997 and 2005 bore witness to several titanic encounters, but although Arsenal claimed three league titles and four FA Cups during that period, they have not lifted any silverware since edging United on penalties in the final of the 2005 FA Cup.

Old Trafford has also been the scene of some chastening Arsenal defeats. They went down 6-1 in February 2001 and were humiliatingly routed 8-2 only two years ago.

Now, though, the winds of change are sweeping through English football and they have borne Arsenal to the top of the table after a start to the season in which they appear to have accumulated belief and purpose with each passing week.

After beating Liverpool 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, Arsenal became the first English team to win at Borussia Dortmund in mid-week and they approach Sunday’s game with an eight-point lead over United.

Wenger has characteristically attempted to downplay the expectations surrounding his team, but he says that the trip to Manchester is an opportunity for his players to demonstrate their appetite for a title tilt.

“What is the most important is that we trust our quality and show the resilience and the hunger to achieve what we can achieve,” he said.

“We have made a lot of improvements at the back in our defensive game and we have done well in the last two games, but there is a lot to do.

“We have a lot more to achieve.”

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will undergo a fitness test on his bothersome ankle after sitting out the past two games.

United’s Danny Welbeck will miss the game due to a knee injury.