This Sunday’s top-four clash will see Manchester United entertain Arsenal, which will take the head-to-head record to 222 matches in all competitions, beginning back in 13th October 1894.
This was the date when these two clubs met for the first time in their history, who were both playing under different names at the time. United’s original name was Newton Heath LYR (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways), as the name ‘Manchester United’ wasn’t introduced until 1902. Whereas Arsenal had a number of name changes before their first encounter with United, previously Dial Square and Royal Arsenal, before deciding on Woolwich Arsenal.
The Football League Division Two game was at Bank Street, United’s second stadium prior to the change of location to Old Trafford in 1910, in front of an attendance of 4,000. The two clubs shared the points as the match ended 3-3, as Ronald Donaldson scored twice and John Clarkin added another for Newton Heath. The reverse fixture was held at Manor Ground stadium, in front of an attendance of 6,000, who saw Woolwich Arsenal come out on top in a 3-2 win.
Within the same season, Newton Heath finished third in the league, which gave them the chance to get promoted, whilst Woolwich Arsenal could only finish in a mild eighth place. Due to Heath’s position, they faced Division One’s third from bottom team, Stoke City in a ‘test match’, as automatic promotions and relegations weren’t in place at the time. The Potters came out as the victors, meaning the two teams would remain in their respected divisions for the following season.
It wasn’t until the 1906/07 season where the two clubs faced each other for the first in the Football League’s Division One, with the clubs winning their home fixtures against one another that season. Manchester United gained promotion to Division One the previous season, finishing second. Woolwich Arsenal, whose name didn’t change to ‘Arsenal’ until 1914, gained promotion, after also finishing second, in the 1903/04 season.
United won their first ever piece of silverware after only two seasons in the top division, winning the Division One Title. One of the stars of title-winning United team, and now club legend, was Billy Meredith, a tricky Welsh Winger/Outside Forward, with a nickname of ‘Old Skinny’, due to his tall and slim frame. He scored 36 goals in 335 appearances for United, after joining on a free from Manchester City in 1906, with Meredith receiving £500 as a singing-on fee. An odd trait of the Welshman, who was capped 48 times, was to play with a toothpick in his mouth, as he claimed it would aid his concentration.
Meredith was known for his dribbling and crossing ability, as well as being a true professional of the game, by maintaining his physical fitness with extra training sessions. After 15 years with United, he returned to Manchester City and became, and still is, their oldest ever player, as he played his last game at the age of 49 years and 245 days old.
It was a long wait for league success at Arsenal, as their First Division title came in the 1930/31 season, whilst United finished bottom of the table, meaning relegation down to Division Two. Arsenal added another four Division One titles to their trophy cabinet within the 1930’s, whilst United were either struggling to achieve promotion or cement a place back into Division One.
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