Mikel Arteta hopes the Theater of Dreams doesn’t create more nightmares

Old Trafford is known as the Theater of Dreams, but for Arsenal it has so often been the stuff of nightmares.

The Gunners have won just one of their last 16 Premier League games there – and that was in 2020 when the ground was empty due to Covid.

Before that, you have to go all the way back to 2006 to find the last time Arsenal left Old Trafford with three points.

What Mikel Arteta would give for Sunday to be like this.

Since the start of the year, they have won 14 league games, drawn at Manchester City and lost just once. No team has taken more points in 2024, but the title is not yet in Arsenal’s hands.

However, this run of form is why the Gunners should not fear going to Old Trafford this weekend.

They have conceded just eight goals during that brilliant run – they have scored 51 – and their 10 clean sheets away from home this season is the club’s best record on the road since the birth of the Premier League.

With two games to go, Arsenal have won 26 games – equaling their Premier League tally from last season. It was not until 1930-31 and 1970-71 that they won more games in a single top-flight campaign.

If that wasn’t enough to fill Arsenal with confidence ahead of Sunday, then United’s dismal form should do.

When Arteta was growing up, he used to watch the heavyweight clashes between these two sides, such as the famous night in 2002 when Arsenal won the title at Old Trafford thanks to Sylvain Wiltord’s goal.

But the two sides are miles apart this season. There’s a 29-point gap between them in the league and, on the evidence of Crystal Palace’s resounding win against United on Monday, it’s not hard to see why.

Erik ten Hag’s side have conceded 81 goals in all competitions, which is United’s most in a season since the 1976-77 campaign.

Injuries have undoubtedly had an impact and Monday’s match saw the 14th different centre-back combination that the Ten Hag have used this season. Casemiro and Jonny Evans were run ragged by Palace’s Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise due to a lack of pace.

Arsenal will look to do the same, although United could be boosted by the return of Lisandro Martinez, who has returned to training.

The challenge for Arsenal is to put the past behind them and focus on the present by playing the team in front of them.

This is not one of the vintage United teams that have routinely beaten Arsenal at Old Trafford, such as the side that thrashed them 8-2 in 2011.

Instead, Ten Hag is fighting to prove he’s the right man for the job – and he’ll be hoping that sparks a reaction from his players.

United have shown their ability to deliver in one-off games this season, notably knocking Liverpool out of the FA Cup, and Arsenal need to be wary.

Liverpool broke free, allowing United to turn the game into a chaotic affair, and that’s why it’s more important than ever that Arteta’s side are in control on Sunday.

Control has been the buzzword of the season at Arsenal, who have switched to a style that suffocates opponents and gives them nothing to feed off of.

The middle will be key and is where it feels like there is the biggest mismatch between these two sides.

Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard have been nominated for Premier League Player of the Season this week and their ability on and off the ball would make each a worthy winner.

United, by contrast, have relied on teenager Kobbie Mainoo to take the reins and, as excellent as he has been, it feels like a huge task for him to lead the way in midfield this weekend.

History, however, has shown how anything can happen in these games.