The Premier League is back for the 2025-26 season, and the schedule makers set us up with a mouthwatering clash for the opening weekend. Arsenal will travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United on Sunday.
The Gunners have title aspirations this season after coming off three consecutive runner-up finishes, while United just want to make progress this year after a disastrous 2024-25 campaign in which they finished in 15th place.
Arsenal are +110 favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook for this one, with a draw available at +260. Fancy a Man United upset? The Red Devils are +250 on the moneyline.
Man United vs. Arsenal Prediction, Pick
These are two teams that are in very different stages of their development. Arsenal are built to win now, while United are just trying to find some stability. The Red Devils did make some serious improvements in their team over the summer, adding attacking options like Benjamin Šeško, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. However, the question remains to be seen: is that enough to move them up the table to possibly compete for a Champions League spot? And for the opening match, who knows how they are going to gel together. We just haven’t seen it yet.
Arsenal are the much safer bet, a team that have been playing under the same manager for the last five years and players that know each other well. Martín Zubimendi and Viktor Gyökeres are the biggest signings for the Gunners this summer, but I still think they have too much quality in this matchup, even if those two players don’t hit the ground running. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz are all capable of producing the goods up top, while Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard are experienced Premier League midfielders who have produced season after season.
For United’s new signings, they have to hit the ground running in the opening match if they want to have a chance at the upset. A performance similar to what we saw for the majority of last season simply won’t cut it against a team that will likely challenge for the title.
In the last five Premier League meetings between these two sides, Arsenal have won four times and drawn once. United have not beaten Arsenal in the league since September of 2022, so this has definitely been a one sided rivalry in recent seasons. The first game of a new campaign is always difficult to handicap, but I think the Gunners are great value at +110 against a team that has yet to look competent under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim.
