Guinness Match of the Weekend: Manchester United vs. Arsenal

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Guinness Made of Black Match of the Weekend: Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Where: Old Trafford, Manchester

When: 14:05 (GMT), Sunday February 28

Arsenal's midweek clash against Barcelona in the Champions League was always going to be testing. The Gunners were destined to draw one of the continent's giants in the round of 16 after finishing second in their group following a superb salvation act in the last two fixtures.

They don't come any bigger than Barca, however, and while the north London heavyweights held on for an impressive 70 minutes, they were undone during the final 20 minutes of the match as the reigning European champions turned on the class.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring following an explosive counter-attacking move, before adding a second with a late penalty after Mathieu Flamini's clumsy foul.

After a 2-0 home defeat, Arsenal's hopes of advancing to the Champions League appear to be hanging by a thread, although they can surely take some solace from holding the Catalan giants at bay for over an hour.

While they will surely be fatigued by their midweek exploits—even if it wasn't quite the pummelling that Gary Neville's Valencia, say, were subjected to recently—Arsenal will surely be relieved to return to the relative serenity of the Premier League.

Their head-to-head against Manchester United on Sunday won't be as venomous a contest as the kind of reunions the two English giants used to share, but it is still a fixture that—on paper at least—ranks amongst the biggest in the domestic game.

After their recent come-from-behind victory against title rivals Leicester City, the Gunners are firmly back in the Championship picture, and could overtake the Foxes if results go their way this weekend.

However, a combination of the defeat to Barca and last weekend's 0-0 home FA Cup draw against Hull City means that the Gunners have struggled to keep the momentum going following their back-to-back wins over Bournemouth and Leicester.

Barclays Premier League

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Leicester City	26	15	8	3	19	53
2	Tottenham Hotspur	26	14	9	3	27	51
3	Arsenal	26	15	6	5	18	51
4	Manchester City	26	14	5	7	20	47
5	Manchester United	26	11	8	7	9	41
6	Southampton	26	11	7	8	10	40
7	West Ham United	26	10	10	6	9	40
8	Liverpool	26	10	8	8	2	38
9	Watford	26	10	6	10	1	36
10	Stoke City	26	10	6	10	-5	36
11	Everton	26	8	11	7	11	35
12	Chelsea	26	8	9	9	2	33
13	Crystal Palace	26	9	5	12	-5	32
14	West Bromwich Albion	26	8	8	10	-8	32
15	Bournemouth	26	7	7	12	-14	28
16	Swansea City	26	6	9	11	-10	27
17	Norwich City	26	6	6	14	-20	24
18	Newcastle United	26	6	6	14	-22	24
19	Sunderland	26	6	5	15	-18	23
20	Aston Villa	26	3	7	16	-26	16

They will back themselves to return to winning ways against a troubled Manchester United who appear to be limping towards the end of the season, and the mooted arrival of Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese coach looks set to be called upon to put Louis van Gaal out of his misery, and even if the Red Devils turn it around in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland, it will surely be the desperate first leg in Denmark which most aptly characterises LVG's reign.

If Wenger's side are to reaffirm their title credentials after a tricky week, then Wenger will surely be targeting a positive result against United.

With Mourinho waiting in the wings, it may be the last chance he gets!

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Ayo Omaerebu Played min 16 for Chelsea in Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion

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