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Arsenal vs Manchester United will always be a red-letter fixture date in the Premier League diary. Even when one of the two juggernauts has not been at its best in recent years, it is never a match to be missed.
The rivalry was at its peak between the mid '90s and the mid '2000s. Between them, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger's teams shared nine successive Premier League titles, also picking up six FA Cups too.
Their most famous encounter came in an FA Cup semi-final replay in 1999, Ryan Giggs scoring a sublime extra-time winner at Villa Park en route to the Red Devils' treble. The Gunners did get revenge six years later, prevailing on penalties in the final at the Millennium Stadium after a goalless draw.
This fixture continues to provide plenty of iconic moments on both sides, but who are Arsenal's record scorers against Manchester United?
Plenty of players have netted three times in this fixture, including Bukayo Saka, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Dennis Bergkamp, Nicolas Anelka and, somewhat surprisingly, Granit Xhaka, but only ten men have four or more.
10 Arsenal players with the most goals against Man United
10. Freddie Ljungberg: 4 goals
Freddie Ljungberg will always be a legend at Arsenal. During his nine seasons at the club, the Swede won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, a key member of the Invincibles.
The winger loved a big goal in a big game, and that certainly included battles with Manchester United. Ljungberg netted four times during his first six Premier League meetings with the Red Devils. Soon after arriving in North London, he bagged the third in a 3-0 demolition at Highbury, also on target during a 3-1 win in November 2001, en route to the double.
In fact, only against Manchester City (5) did Ljungberg score more times in his entire career, underlining how proficient he was in this fixture.
9. Ronnie Rooke: 5 goals
For this next player, we all need to jump into our proverbial DeLoreans and travel back to the 1940s. Professional football is just starting back up again following World War II, and, having served as a physical training instructor for the RAF, Ronnie Rooke joined Arsenal in December 1946.
With the Gunners, he won both the First Division title and FA Charity Shield in 1948, scoring 70 times for the club in total. This includes five hat-tricks, one of which came during a 6-2 victory over Manchester United at Highbury in February 1947.
In total, across all of his clubs, most notably Fulham, Rooke scored 934 career goals, according to the Record Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. This puts him fourth in the world in the history of football, behind only Erwin Helmchen (989), Cristiano Ronaldo (956) and Josef Bican (950), 33 ahead of Lionel Messi. Ronnie Rooke may not be a name you've heard before, but he is a legendary figure.
8. Jimmy Bloomfield: 5 goals
Fast forward a few years to 1954, and 20-year-old Jimmy Bloomfield has joined Arsenal from Brentford for a fee of £8,000.
During an underwhelming period in the club's history, Bloomfield scored 54 goals in six seasons before departing for Birmingham City in 1960. Shortly prior to this move, he bagged a hat-trick against Manchester United at Highbury in a 5-2 victory, still one of only six men to net a treble in the fixture for the club.
7. Sylvain Wiltord: 5 goals
When Gooners think of historic victories over Manchester United, Sylvain Wiltord's name immediately springs to mind.
It is May 2002, and Arsenal have just beaten Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup Final in Cardiff; it's only Ray Parlour, and all that. Back in the Premier League, with two games to go, Arsenal are five points clear of champions Manchester United, looking forward to the seemingly inevitable trophy presentation day against Everton the following weekend.
With most of the squad fatigued, or in some cases severely hungover, Arsène Wenger heavily rotates for the mid-week visit to Old Trafford, leaving many stars on the bench. Despite this, Arsenal managed to famously clinch the league title at Old Trafford, winning 1-0. Just before the hour mark, Freddie Ljungberg's shot is saved by Fabien Barthez, but only for the rebound to be tucked home by Wiltord. Truly one of the most iconic moments in Arsenal's history.
Overall, the Frenchman actually netted five times against Man United. Three of these came during a Worthington Cup tie earlier that very season, a 4-0 victory at Highbury, which remains the last time a man has scored a hat-trick for Arsenal against one of their fiercest foes.
6. Alan Smith: 6 goals
Another man synonymous with Arsenal title success is Alan Smith.
During his eight-year career in North London, Smudge scored 115 times for the Gunners, a tally only bettered by 12 men in the history of the club. This includes bagging the only goal of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final against Parma at Parken, as well as the crucial opener that saw Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 on the final day of the 1988/89 season at Anfield, snatching the title on goals scored.
Smith also loved scoring against Manchester United, scoring six in all during his time at Arsenal. This tally includes bagging all three in a 3-1 victory at Highbury in May 1991 en route to another First Division title. Despite already being champions, this was a cathartic victory, given that George Graham's team had been deducted two points due to a mass brawl following their 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture.
5) John Radford: 7 goals
We're now travelling back to the mid-60s for the start of John Radford's Arsenal career.
During 12 seasons in North London, the forward won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970, on target in the final against Anderlecht, as well as the league and FA Cup double the following season. In total, he scored 149 times for the club; only Thierry Henry, Ian Wright and Cliff Bastin have more.
Of these, seven came at the expense of Man United, all coming at Highbury and all during victories. Most notably, he bagged a hat-trick in a 4-0 win in August 1970, this at the very start of that double campaign.
4. Malcolm Macdonald: 7 goals
Malcolm Macdonald was not an Arsenal player for long, but he certainly made an impact at Highbury.
After establishing himself as a prolific goalscorer at Luton and Newcastle, the striker joined Arsenal in 1976 for the unique transfer fee of £333,333.34. He netted 57 times for the Gunners before suffering a pretty much career-ending knee injury against Rotherham in 1978. Of these goals, seven came in just five clashes with Man United, including a trio of braces, which isn't bad going, is it?
3. Jimmy Brain: 7 goals
We're now travelling a long way back in time to find the oldest player on this list, Jimmy Brain.
After joining Arsenal in 1923, Brain scored 139 goals in just 232 appearances for the club, including 12 hat-tricks, which to this day remains a joint-record, alongside Jack Lambert. He was a key figure in Herbert Chapman's title-winning team in 1931, the first of Arsenal's 13 league triumphs.
Brain netted seven times in ten outings against Man United, including two doubles, before departing for Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £2,500, a rare player to directly cross that divide.
2. David Herd: 7 goals
Compared to Brian, David Herd feels like a modern player, joining Arsenal from Stockport County in 1954. In just 180 appearances for the club, the Scotland international scored 107 goals, including seven against Manchester United.
However, frankly, Arsenal were not very good at the time, finishing as low as 13th in 1960. Frustrated by this, Herd controversially moved to Manchester United for £35,000 in the summer of 1961. The Red Devils snapped up a striker who had caused them so many problems in the past.
Well, fair to say this move paid off, winning two league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup, netting 143 times for Sir Matt Busby, part of his rebuild following the Munich Air Disaster. Herd's move was rather foreshadowing what was to come from Frank Stapleton and Robin van Persie.
1. Thierry Henry: 9 goals
Of course, as is likely to be the case when it comes to any Arsenal goal-scoring list, it's Thierry Henry who takes top spot.
The Frenchman remains Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228, a tally unlikely to be matched any time soon. In his career, he netted nine times against Manchester United, only bagging more against Chelsea, Leeds, Charlton, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough.
This tally includes an astonishing spin and volley at Highbury in 2000, as well as a towering stoppage-time header in 2007, which many still claim is the loudest the then brand-new Emirates Stadium has ever been. Henry holds plenty of records that may never be broken, and this is simply another.