sport news Arsenal and Manchester United: What's happened when Mikel Arteta and Erik ten ... trends now

Arsenal versus Manchester United. For years the pre-eminent Premier League fixture to look out for every season.

Then came the doldrums. Arsenal haven't been crowned English champions since 2004, while United are approaching a decade this summer.

There have been plenty of false dawns since their barren spells but both sides are on the up with plenty considering Sunday's fixture a pivotal one in the title race, despite it only being the middle of January.

Premier League leaders Arsenal sit eight points clears of fourth-placed United - with both the in-form sides at present.

It is a testament to the fine work Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his United counterpart Erik ten Hag have done.

Inheriting squads, both have laid down their own laws - to the chagrin of some players. Sportsmail looks at some of the run-ins the hard taskmasters have had to deal with.

MIKEL ARTETA Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

The most difficult decision of Arteta's stint, things quickly deteriorated between the Spaniard and his captain.

In a well documented fall-out, Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy last December before he joined Barcelona in the January transfer window after mutually terminating his contract with Arsenal.

It is believed the fall-out occurred due to Aubameyang's disciplinary issues which originated from his lateness to training. The final straw saw Arteta drop him for returning late from an agreed break.

In the fall-out of that, a video emerged of Aubameyang slating Arteta's management skills.

'To manage big characters or big players, he (Arteta) can't deal with it,' Aubameyang was recorded as saying in an interview with A Jewellers.

Since the video was first shared, Aubameyang took to social media to explain his comments, writing part of a tweet which read: 'Aware there is a video out that was recorded just after I arrived at Barca.

'At the time I still had a lot of bad feelings in me - Arsenal are doing great things this season and I wish all my old guys well.'

Replying in October, Arteta indicated that life has improved since Aubameyang left.

'People are free to discuss what they want,' he said.

'I have never been in a better dressing room (than this season) - more enjoyable, more hard-working, a better relationship between staff and players and it is an absolute pleasure as a coach to be a part of this group.'

His time at Barcelona lasted just half-a-season as he has since gone on to join Arsenal's London rivals Chelsea in a £12million deal.

Chelsea are floundering, while Arsenal are soaring.

Matteo Guendouzi

In the space of just five months Matteo Guendouzi crossed the line of Arteta three times - making the relationship unsustainable.

Two of those were during the Gunners' mid-season training camp in Dubai in February 2020.

The midfielder was reprimanded for a training ground altercation with a team-mate and for his behaviour at an external event. As a consequence he was left out of the Arsenal squad for their 4-0 victory against Newcastle that month after failing to impress Arteta.

It was the first time Guendouzi had been omitted from a Premier League matchday squad when he has been available since he joined the Gunners in 2018.

After winning back the trust of his manager, that quickly went during a 2-1 defeat at Brighton in June 2020.

The Frenchman was accused of calling Seagulls stars 's***' throughout the game at the Amex before becoming involved in a physical altercation with Brighton striker Neal Maupay.

Maupay had scored the winning goal in stoppage time having earlier been involved in a collision with Bernd Leno which led to the Arsenal goalkeeper going off injured.

Frustrations boiled over for the Gunners at the end of the encounter, with Guendouzi grabbing the Brighton forward's neck, resulting in him going to ground.

Guendouzi avoided an FA ban but his actions incensed Arteta who dropped him for the subsequent matches.

Guendouzi spent the following season out on loan at Hertha Berlin before spending 2021-22 at Marseille on loan. That then became permanent as they activated the option-to-buy clause.

Mesut Ozil

Completing a hat-trick of big personalities shown the Emirates exit door is Mesut Ozil.

The playmaker's £350,000-per-week wages had been a source of contention among his critics and his six-figure sum was scrutinised further during the Covid pandemic.

Most of the FA Cup winners' squad accepted a year-long 12.5 per cent pay cut in light of the coronavirus crisis, but the 31-year-old refused, insisting the players were 'rushed into it without proper consultation'.

He claimed the reason it became public knowledge that he turned down the proposed deal is because 'people have been trying for two years to destroy me' and 'to push an agenda they hope will turn the supporters against me'.

Ozil reiterated he would not be forced out before his contract expired at the end of the 2020-21, despite not playing a single minute after the restart.

'You don't play 10 games in a row if you're unfit, not good enough or don't behave well,' the midfielder told The Athletic in August 2020, referring to his run of Premier League appearances under Arteta pre-lockdown.

'If I played these games badly and was then left out completely for that reason then I might understand, but this was not the case.

'Possibly the decision affected my chances on the pitch, I don't know. But I'm not afraid to stand up for what I feel is right and when you see what has happened now with the jobs, maybe I was.'

Ozil was referring to the news that Arsenal made 55 members of staff redundant.

'My position is clear,' he continued. 'I'm

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