Gary Neville and Roy Keane in disagreement as they predict winner of Manchester United vs Arsenal

Manchester United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane appeared to be in disagreement over the winner and scoreline of the Premier League game between the Red Devils and Arsenal, to be played at Old Trafford on Sunday, August 17.

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This clash will be the first for both sides in the new Premier League season, which is slated to kick off on Friday, August 16, when defending champions Liverpool host Bournemouth under the lights at Anfield.

For Manchester United, facing Arsenal in their first game of the new season is expected to be a big challenge, given that they finished the previous campaign 15th in the table. The Gunners, meanwhile, finished second and are strong contenders to challenge for the title this time around.

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Appearing as honoured guests of the Stick To Football podcast, via United In Focus, both Keane and Neville seemed to be in respectful disagreement with each other's opinions on the result and scoreline of this upcoming game.

“[Manchester] United are winning that. I’m going United, 2-1.I just think it’s a really bad game for Arsenal to get first up. I think it’s a challenging game for Arsenal first up,” said Gary Neville.

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“I’d go Arsenal, 2-1. Defensively, Arsenal are going to give up two goals?” asked a confounded Roy Keane to his ex-teammate.

An interesting mini-battle will be on display between Manchester United and Arsenal on Sunday

Despite Manchester United finishing in a lowly position last season, the summer transfer window has seen them make some big splurges. The Red Devils did themselves a big favour by signing a reputed centre-forward in the form of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, while adding fellow attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha to their ranks.

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The visitors, too, have been extremely active in the window, with their greatest acquisition being that of Victor Gyokeres, who arrived for approximately €63.5M from Sporting CP. Alongside Gyokeres, another notable Arsenal signing this season was midfielder Martin Zubimendi, acquired for €60M from Real Sociedad.

The likes of Christian Norgaard, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Noni Madueke, and Cristhian Mosquera have also arrived at the Emirates, with manager Mikel Arteta showing that he means business this time around. Having finished 2nd in the Premier League for the last three seasons in a row must have shaken and hurt the Spaniard.

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An interesting mini-battle will be on display at Old Trafford on Sunday when the Gunners' centre-forward Gyokeres takes to the pitch. Having previously worked with current Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, he will now work in conjunction with Arteta to bring the former down, that too in his lair.

Gyokeres arrived after scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting over two seasons, and is expected to add an extra thrust to the Gunners' push for the league title. On the opposite end of the pitch, Sesko, 23, found the back of the net on 39 occasions for Leipzig in two seasons before arriving at Old Trafford, and might be the solution to United's long-standing goalscoring problems.

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About the author Mohul Bhowmick Mohul is a senior football, cricket and Olympic Sports writer at Sportskeeda, and has been in the organisation for more than 6 years. Some of his best work includes 118 exclusive interviews with famous sports personalities, insider talk and transfer speculations. He has also covered the entirety of the 2023-24 ISL season, Kalinga Super Cup and 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League from the ground.

An MBA degree holder in Finance, Mohul is also a professional cricketer and is currently in the reserves for Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy team. He’s also played league football in Hyderabad.

His football interest sparked after watching countless Rahim League matches at the Gymkhana and supporting the State Bank of Hyderabad. He grew up hearing stories about the legendary Syed Abdul Rahim and his incredible football team of the 1960s, which had a big influence on him. He has admired Manchester United’s dominance in English and European football as well.

Tennis star Leander Paes, Olympic gold-medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricketing legend Rahul Dravid and football star Chinglensana Singh are Mohul’s favorite athletes. He is a staunch Hyderabad FC supporter, and Sahil Tavora’s 88th-minute equalizer in the 2021-22 ISL Cup final against Kerala Blasters is one of his favorite footballing moments. Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Olympics also had a huge impact on Mohul.

In his work, he strives to write relevant, accurate and unbiased stories by conducting thorough research. When not working, Mohul enjoys reading books and listening to heavy metal and rock music. Know More

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