Manchester United travel to North London to face Arsenal full of confidence after beating rivals Manchester City.
Michael Carrick was full of praise for Manchester United’s performance against Manchester City last week, but there was very little time to reflect on that 2-0 win with a trip to Arsenal on the horizon.
The Red Devils can climb up to fourth in the Premier League table with a win over the Gunners, but United have not won away at Arsenal since 2017 in the league.
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Supporters can take confidence from last week’s performance against City, as well as Carrick’s win over Mikel Arteta in 2021 when he was the caretaker manager of the Red Devils.
Arsenal remain the favourites, but United’s revival under Carrick means there is more optimism about picking up points in North London.
Manchester United head coach / manager Michael Carrick during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on January 17, 2026
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Paul Merson says Man United have ‘no chance’ vs Arsenal
Last week, Paul Merson heavily backed City to beat United in the derby and he was wrong.
Paul Merson said he would be “amazed” if United got a result against City. Frankly, by full-time, the only shock was that United didn’t win by more.
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This week, Merson has again gone bold with his prediction. Speaking on Sky Sports News, he said United have “no chance” of beating Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
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“No chance,” Merson said. “They’ve got to stay in the game as long as they can. I think the longer they go, if they go 20, 30, 40 [minutes] to half-time. Second half, you know Arsenal will start panicking.
“The pressure will be on Arsenal. So they just have to stay in the game, I don’t think they want to get into an end-to-end football match, if they do I think there’s only one winner and that’s Arsenal.”
Man United can thrive on underdog status
Last week, many expected United to be ripped apart by title-chasing City, but it was Pep Guardiola’s side who left Old Trafford battered and bruised.
Carrick injected energy and fight into United’s performance, and players responded brilliantly to his game plan.
Merson is right about one thing – the pressure is on Arsenal. They lead the Premier League by four points and nothing but a win on Sunday will be acceptable for Arteta.
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United enter the match as underdogs, but that can suit Carrick and his counter-attacking style of play. Arsenal will have to flood players forward and that should open up space for the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo to exploit.
Many pundits were left with egg on their face for writing off United in the derby, the same could happen against Arsenal.
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