Man Utd vs Arsenal: Wenger faces the ultimate acid test

Arsene Wenger has only ever beaten Jose Mourinho once, in the 2015 Community Shield, but the Arsenal manager will be determined to break the hoodoo when he takes the Gunners to Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Saturday lunchtime.

With Arsenal riding high in the league, and Mourinho experiencing some teething difficulties in Manchester, the stage is set for Wenger to finally get one over on his hated adversary. But he has never managed it before.

Running the rule over Wenger's seven defeats and six draws in 15 games against Mourinho, Sam Morshead of Mail Online notes: "For all the trophies he's won and victories he's enjoyed at Arsenal, the Frenchman is still to conquer his Portuguese nemesis in competitive action.

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"That's 12-and-a-half years of frustration against various Mourinho sides," and that makes the new Man United boss Wenger's "ultimate bogeyman – the caricature villain who's yet to be foiled".

Will things be any different this weekend?

Former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins, writing in The Independent believes so. Mourinho's Chelsea teams, he says, always had the physicality to bully Arsenal, but he is not so sure about United.

Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba in midfield will be crucial, but it is not clear if they have the physicality to make "Arsenal crumple under physical pressure", he says. If the Gunners can "withstand the United bombardment tomorrow, they might have a chance".

But the stakes appear to be higher for Arsenal than they are for United, who must already know that the title is beyond their grasp this season.

"Mourinho's appointment hasn't yet lifted United out of their identity crisis, but it has restored the edge to a fixture which was descending back into the grey morass of normality," says Tom Adams of Eurosport. "Saturday's match marks a significant moment: Wenger's greatest rivals are now managed by the man he surely detests the most. The Premier League's most intense rivalry has received a long overdue reboot."

But aside from his personal duel with Mourinho, Wenger knows victory at Old Trafford "will send out a big message of intent" in the title race, says John Cross of the Daily Mirror. Previous meetings have tended to define a season for Arsenal and have served up some "nightmares" for the Gunners boss.

The 8-2 debacle in 2011 is a case in point, and last season "Arsenal's title collapse effectively began" after their 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in February.

The game "could be an acid test and an indicator for Wenger and Arsenal's ambitions this season", he says.

However, the omens are against Arsenal, says the Daily Telegraph, which has come up with seven reasons why it might not be Arsenal's day. Among them are Arsenal's poor league record against United, especially at Old Trafford. Mourinho's track record against Wenger, and the Arsenal's bosses form against Manchester United managers.

Then there is the Gunners' famous November curse, plus the fact that Wayne Rooney loves playing against them. He scored his first ever goal, his first United league goal and his 100th league goal against the Gunners, and needs only two goals to equal Bobby Charlton's scoring record.

Man Utd vs Arsenal: Will Mourinho rekindle famous rivalry?

17 November

Arsene Wenger and new Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho will come face to face for the first time this season when Arsenal visit Old Trafford. The match could reinvigorate the rivalry between the two sides, which has paled in recent seasons.

During the early years of Wenger's Gunners reign, when both sides were genuine title challengers, the stormy clashes between Arsenal and United were the highlight of the season. The fading influence of the Gunners and the retirement of Alex Ferguson took the sting out of the games.

But although Arsenal have not won the title for 12 years, and United already appear to be out of this year's race, the animosity between Wenger and new United boss Mourinho could stoke the embers on Saturday.

"If there is anything to light the touch paper between the two teams like 13 years ago, it's the extra edge of a Mourinho-Wenger rivalry and anticipation for Saturday's fixture is already sky high," says the Manchester Evening News.

The pair have "one of the most toxic rivalries in football", says the Daily Telegraph, and although it all began in London, and Mourinho's time in charge of Chelsea, it is set to continue in Manchester.

Wenger has only beaten Mourinho once in 15 meetings and has been dubbed, among other things, a "voyeur" and a "specialist in failure" by the Portuguese.

The Arsenal boss, for his part, has been a vocal critic of Mourinho's "negative" football. The animosity between them was laid bare in 2014 when they became embroiled in a shoving match on the sidelines.

But, speaking ahead of the weekend clash, "Wenger promised to shake Jose Mourinho by the hand when the old foes meet again at Old Trafford and dismissed the theory that the Manchester United manager has a psychological hold over his team", reports the Daily Mail.

However, he made it clear he would only shake hands because it was an "important ritual" and said: "I don't have to describe our relationship. He will fight for his team and I will fight for mine."

Wenger also reverted to a familiar theme, hinting that Mourinho's side would not play to win. "What makes it for the audience is the quality of the game. We have seen some games this season not respond to the expectation level," said Wenger. "This game will be watched all over the world and what's important is that the quality of the game is good. That is down to the player on the pitch."