Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal: Premier League as it happened

That just about wraps up this live blog, but be sure to join my IBTimes UK sport colleague Tony Mogan for updates from this afternoon's five-strong 15.00 GMT slate including Southampton's meeting with table-toppers Liverpool at St Mary's. Yaya Toure is also set to make his first Premier League start since April as Manchester City travel to Crystal Palace.

I will be back later this afternoon to provide further live coverage of the London derby contest between Tottenham and West Ham. Coverage of that 17.30 kick-off from 16.00.

Until then, goodbye.

Arsenal entertain reigning French champions Paris Saint-Germain in a potentially pivotal Champions League clash on Wednesday that will likely go a long way to determining who wins Group A. Their next top-flight outing comes against Bournemouth in eight days time.

United, meanwhile, host Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday before back-to-back clashes against West Ham.

Both of these teams are in EFL Cup quarter-final action next week.

So that late Giroud header salvages a point for Arsenal, still unbeaten since the opening weekend of the season, on a day where Wenger clearly got his team selection wrong.

The Gunners temporarily jump above rivals Tottenham into third. United were much the better side for the most part, but remain six points behind in sixth.

Full-time

Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal

Marriner decides not to penalise Monreal following a coming together with Herrera and Rooney is then booked for dissent.

Rooney is whistled for an obvious handball in the box and Cech comes out to claim a free-kick. The offside flag was up anyway.

Four minutes of added time signalled. Can either of these two sides find a winner at the death?

It's been a lethargic and lacklustre attacking display from Arsenal, but they pull level late on as two of Wenger's substitutes combine to devastating effect.

Oxlade-Chamberlain breezes past Rashford down the right and stands up a perfect cross to the back post. With Jones occupied by Koscielny and Valencia merely a spectator, Giroud rises unchallenged to power home an unstoppable header past the helpless De Gea.

Goal: Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal (Olivier Giroud)

Arsenal are controlling possession just at the moment but are desperately struggling to create an opening.

Ramsey commits another foul on Pogba and is promptly shown a yellow card.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Jenkinson is Arsenal's final change.

Potential match-winner Mata also receives a standing ovation as he walks off. Morgan Schneiderlin comes on in his place.

Wenger's second substitution sees Coquelin replaced by Xhaka. Arsenal's midfield pairing has certainly been found wanting today.

10 minutes plus stoppage time for the Gunners, who have still yet to register a shot on target during a wretched second-half showing, to find an equaliser at Old Trafford.

Still United apply the pressure and Ramsey is penalised for a foul on Pogba.

Blind then sends in a cross for Rojo, who rises above Jenkinson and heads wide.

Wenger responds to going behind by throwing on Olivier Giroud. Elneny is the man to make way.

United have been really turning the screw in the last few minutes and they get their reward.

After a throw-in on the right, Pogba gets the better of Monreal and releases Herrera.

His run to the byline is not checked by Monreal and the midfielder produces an accurate cutback that compatriot Mata, arriving unmarked from the edge of the penalty area, dispatches first time into the back of the net with a brilliant side-footed finish.

He is then tediously cautioned for passionately celebrating with his own fans.

Goal: Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal (Juan Mata)

"If Rooney scores, we're on the pitch" sing a section of the home support. It is worth remembering throughout all the recent criticism that the skipper is just two goals away from equalling Sir Bobby Charlton (249) as United's all-time record scorer.

What a time this would be to get them.

With 63 minutes gone, Mourinho sends on Rooney in place of Martial. It's been another frustratingly quiet afternoon for the Frenchman. Rashford will now move out to the left.

Daley Blind also comes on for Darmian, who is one transgression away from a second yellow card and may also have picked up a knock.

United work the ball well to Valencia on the right-hand side. He finds Herrera, whose cross is wildly overhit. Martial does well to keep it in play before being tackled by Jenkinson.

Elneny then clears another delivery.

Can this man come on and break the deadlock? It would be some riposte to his army of critics after another week of headlines...

Static goalkeeping from David De Gea as he stays rooted to the spot and relies on Jones to deal with Laurent Koscielny's attempted close-range header.

Arsenal's second corner in quick succession is overhit and fails to cause any problems.

Walcott plays a nifty one-two with Sanchez and gets the better of Darmian before a poor low cross is turned behind by Jones.

There were strong shouts for a hand from the home crowd after that block, but replays show that the ball bounced up off Mustafi's leg. That would have been an incredibly harsh decision.

Jenkinson concedes a foolish free-kick right on the byline after sweeping Rashford. However, Martial's delivery is dreadful and easily cleared.

Martial beats Jenkinson and charges forward before seeing a rather meek low shot easily gathered by Cech.

Elneny then chops down Pogba and Mustafi gets across to block a goal-bound effort from Rashford.

Sanchez is pictured adjusting the heavy strapping on his right thigh before the second half gets underway.

No changes from either manager at the interval.

A relatively tame opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford briefly illuminated by that penalty appeal against Monreal.

An aggrieved Mourinho will presumably be eager to express his frustrations to referee Marriner, although he could obviously do without a repeat of his half-time arguments with Mark Clattenburg that saw him banished to the stands for the remainder of a goalless draw with Burnley earlier this month.

He was later handed an £8,000 fine to add to a £50,000 sanction for previous comments made about Anthony Taylor and slapped with a one-match touchline ban that was served at Swansea.

The Portuguese will also be reminded that Darmian can count himself rather fortunate not to have been sent off.

Half-time

Manchester United 0-0 Arsenal

One minute of added time signalled by the fourth official at the end of this half.

Ramsey gives the ball away in a very dangerous position and relies on Cech to bail him out with another good save after Martial cuts inside Jenkinson.

The experienced goalkeeper then tries to punch away the resulting corner and has to scramble back to his line to hold another powerful attempt from Martial.

A lively few moments as Valencia appeals in vain for a penalty after something of a rugby tackle from Monreal, who then has the front to signal for a yellow card. Mourinho registers his dismay as Marriner waves away the protests.

Perhaps driven by a sense of injustice, United come forward again and the skillful Pogba tees up Mata for a low drive that is turned around the post by Petr Cech.

Darmian is on very thin ice now after narrowly avoiding a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Jenkinson. He will have to be extremely cautious from here on out.

Another United corner, won by Darmian, is firmly headed away by Monreal at the front post. Mustafi clears the next delivery and a volley from Herrera is smashed over.

The Spaniard, who Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier claims caught him with a "ridiculous" and "dirty" elbow at Wembley in midweek, then exchanges words with an exasperated Valencia.

Having been afforded the benefit of the doubt earlier, Darmian does now have his name taken for another foul on Walcott. There looked to be minimal contact on that one.

Good defending from Rojo to clear a couple of hopeful crosses. We await our first shot on target with almost 30 minutes on the clock.

Sanchez has United's apprehensive backline on their heels every time he collects possession.

Valencia heads away a deep cross from Jenkinson and Coquelin slices an ambitious volley over the crossbar.

Coquelin concedes possession with a sloppy pass and United attack down that right-hand side once more.

Mata, Herrera and Rashford all exchange quick passes and the latter proceeds to deliver a fantastic cross that just evades Pogba, who is quickly flagged for offside.

Paul Pogba muscles his way past Coquelin to the byline but no red shirts opt to take the gamble on his low cross and Shkodran Mustafi stabs clear.

Sanchez is then shown the first yellow card of the afternoon for a mistimed sliding tackle from behind on Herrera.

Arsenal can perhaps feel aggrieved that Matteo Darmian did not receive the same punishment for a tactical foul on Theo Walcott that thwarted a clear Gunners break just minutes earlier.

Valencia seizes on a timid pass from Elneny and strides down the right flank. He pulls back an enticing cross intended for the run of Herrera, but Francis Coquelin gets back to make an important intervention.

After being put straight on the defensive for the opening five minutes, Arsenal spring forward and quickly win a corner when Rojo heads Sanchez's attempted pass behind.

Nacho Monreal then swings in a deflected cross and Theo Walcott gets up above Valencia to win an impressive flick-on. However, Sanchez can only head wide from inside the six-yard box.

That was a real chance.

An early chance for the hosts after Elneny is penalised for bringing down Herrera. Juan Mata steps up to bend a free-kick wide of the far post.

Referee Andre Marriner gets us underway at a chilly Old Trafford bathed in winter sunshine.

United are kicking from left to right in this first half. Arsenal are decked out in their yellow away shirts with grey shorts.

Mourinho and Wenger reluctantly exchange a brief shake of hands and we are just about ready to get going.

It is worth noting that Arsenal, who currently sit fourth in the Premier League behind Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City and are unbeaten in all competitions since the opening weekend, have not won a top-flight game on this ground since Emmanuel Adebayor's late winner in September 2006.

They did, however, record a 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory at Old Trafford last March thanks to goals from Nacho Monreal and ex-Red Danny Welbeck.

Mourinho did not criticise Rooney over that aforementioned saga, the outcome of which has ranged from people chastising the "shock culture" of modern journalism to demands that he be immediately stripped of the England captaincy.

He did, however, seem understandably pleased that there will now be no more international distractions until March 2017.

"Over the last two or three days nothing happened, he trained, like everybody else, he wants to play, like everybody else," he said. "He's ready, what happened in the national team happened in the national team. I don't comment. My players when they go to the national team they belong to the national team.

"What happens there for good or for bad, I don't interfere. Sometimes they come back stronger than when they left us because something good happened there, something positive, a good performance, a good result, other times injuries, sometimes big injuries, other times frustrations because they didn't play, because the result was bad. In this case we know what didn't go well but the national team is a different chapter and it's a chapter that is closed now until March."

While Mourinho appeared to clear the air with regards to Luke Shaw this week, he refused to be drawn on the situation concerning Smalling.

After both he and England defensive colleague Shaw controversially had their respective pain thresholds questioned after that win over Swansea, reports subsequently emerged that the 26-year-old had suffered a broken toe that will keep him in the treatment room for a further four weeks.

"Chris Smalling you cannot ask, you cannot ask because you have your sources, you trust your sources, you believe in your sources, you write what your sources tell you and you did that for 15 days," an irate Mourinho said.

"So now you are not going to ask me to comment on your sources' information so Chris Smalling I don't comment, you have your trustful relationship with your sources, you wrote, you spoke, you comment, you criticise, so that's fine for me. I don't say a word about Chris Smalling. I don't say a word. You have your sources. You do the big headlines with your sources and now I'm not interested in commenting on that."

On Shaw, he added: "He worked well in this period where we had a very small group, which is not the best [situation], but he worked really well." He is ready to play and I don't have any problem with him.

"I am not saying that he plays or he doesn't play tomorrow, I am just saying that he is my player, a player with potential, but like every young player he has little problems and things he needs to learn and to improve on. He is a player that has my confidence and will play in this period of many matches - for sure."

As for Arsenal, Sanchez is deemed fit enough to start after a well-documented injury scare that caused much consternation during the international break.

The former Barcelona forward was ruled out of Chile's qualifier against Colombia with a small hamstring muscle issue picked up in training, but returned to play 84 minutes and score twice on Tuesday night as Juan Antonio Pizzi's side came from behind to beat Uruguay 3-1 in Santiago. That is despite a worried Wenger pleading with La Roja to avoid any "suicidal decision that could harm his future for two or three months".

Carl Jenkinson gets the nod at right-back with Hector Bellerin set to miss around four weeks with an ankle problem. Granit Xhaka loses his midfield berth to the more conservative Mohamed Elneny and Aaron Ramsey is preferred to Alex Iwobi on the right-hand side.

Santi Cazorla, Lucas Perez, Chuba Akpom and Danny Welbeck are all still out. Captain Per Mertesacker, meanwhile, is stepping up his return from a serious knee injury sustained during a pre-season friendly against Lens in July.

Mourinho makes four changes from the side that only needed a mediocre performance to ease past a woeful Swansea City prior to the international break.

Antonio Valencia returns at right-back just three weeks after undergoing surgery on a fractured arm sustained in the EFL Cup fourth-round victory over Manchester City. Ashley Young drops to the bench along with Rooney, who is replaced by Anthony Martial.

Marcus Rashford leads the attack as Zlatan Ibrahimovic serves an automatic one-match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards, while Ander Herrera deputises for the injured Marouane Fellaini in midfield.

Memphis Depay is on the bench, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan is omitted from the matchday 18 once again. Luke Shaw also misses out despite the manager insisting this week that he has no problem with him and that the left-back is "ready to play".

First-choice central defenders Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly are still out, meaning that the makeshift partnership of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones will be tasked with shackling the considerable threat of Alexis Sanchez. Long-term injury victim James Wilson will miss the rest of the season and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who returned to first-team training a fortnight ago, remains an afterthought ahead of a likely winter switch to Major League Soccer.

Arsenal XI: Cech, Jenkinson, Mustafi, Koscielny (c), Monreal, Coquelin, Elneny, Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott, Sanchez

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Xhaka, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi, Giroud

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Darmian, Carrick (c), Herrera, Mata, Pogba, Martial, Rashford

Subs: Romero, Blind, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Young, Memphis, Rooney

The teams are in....

Away from the usual and slightly tedious Mourinho vs Wenger narrative, oft-maligned United captain Wayne Rooney has been at the centre of a media frenzy this week after pictures published by The Sun that showed him looking a little worse for wear in the small hours of Sunday morning at a wedding party that took place at England's team hotel.

The striker had returned to interim boss Gareth Southgate's starting XI for an emphatic 2018 World Cup qualifying victory over Scotland, but missed the subsequent friendly draw against Spain after being released back to his club with what was described as a minor knee injury. He is fit for today's match.

In an apology for the incident, Rooney's management said: "Naturally Wayne is sorry that pictures taken with fans have been published. Although it was a day off for the whole squad and staff, he fully recognises that the images are inappropriate for someone in his position.

"Earlier today Wayne spoke privately to both Gareth Southgate and [FA technical director] Dan Ashworth to unreservedly apologise. He would like to further extend that apology to any young fans who have seen these pictures."

While Wenger has been understandably eager to play down such a rivalry this week, the typically controversial Mourinho instead chose to fan the flames by insisting that the 67-year-old, who recently celebrated two decades in charge of Arsenal, is afforded more respect by the media despite his lesser achievements.

"I think Mr. Wenger has respect from others," he said at a press conference. "I don't think I have. My last league title was 18 months ago, not 18 years ago. I have three and Mr Wenger has three or four, I don't know. We are speaking about the two managers with the best record in the Premier League.

"Does that mean we should be respected, even in periods when our results are not the best? I think Mr Wenger has that respect from all of you. I don't think I have. Especially because my last Premier League title was 18 months ago and not 18 years ago. So I don't think I get that respect."

As ever when these two managers go head-to-head, the previously prickly relationship between Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger has again been a central theme of the inevitably large pre-match build-up.

"Look, I don't think I have to describe our relationship," the Frenchman said earlier this week. "He will fight for his team and I will fight for my team and I think that's completely normal."

It is by now a well-worn fact that Wenger, English football's longest-serving manager who was memorably branded a "specialist in failure" by his bitter foe back in 2014, has never managed a competitive victory in 13 previous attempts against a team led by Mourinho. A 2015 Community Shield victory over Chelsea saw him temporarily end that curse, although normal service was quickly resumed.

Their most famous clash came in October 2014, when tempers boiled over and Wenger shoved his rival during a heated touchline row at Stamford Bridge.

Good afternoon and a very warm welcome to IBTimes UK's latest live coverage of the Premier League.

We will have Southampton vs Liverpool and an eagerly-anticipated London derby clash between Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United for you later on this afternoon, but first we visit the North West as old rivals Manchester United and Arsenal square off in a heavyweight lunchtime encounter at Old Trafford.

Everything you need to know ahead of this mouth-watering fixture coming up, including key storylines, injury news and confirmed lineups. We will also of course be bringing you regular updates after kick-off at 12.30 GMT.

Stay tuned.