Arsenal are top of the Premier League and Champions League tables and remain in both domestic cup competitions, so it is fair to suggest they are having an impressive season on all fronts.
During the UK broadcast of their Champions League victory away to Inter last night, on Amazon Video, Wayne Rooney was asked how Mikel Arteta’s current side (who face modern-day Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday) would get on against the 2008 United side he played for, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson.
Being a key part of that team, Rooney was hardly a neutral observer and shot back immediately that they would “batter” them.
Though it is never easy to compare teams across eras, it is often enjoyable. Taking into account hypotheticals and caveats, we asked Manchester United writer Carl Anka and his counterpart Art de Roche for their views on how the two would compare if they faced each other.
“We’d batter them.” 😂
Wayne Rooney on how his 2008 Man Utd side would get on 🆚 current Arsenal 👀 pic.twitter.com/7zvLUrWgZq
— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) January 20, 2026
Carl: It took Rooney less than half a second to believe the 2008 United team would “batter” present-day Arsenal, but the hypothetical match-up would make for intriguing viewing.
The United team, fronted by Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, was a multi-faceted, multi-talented beast. They finished the 2007-08 season having won the Premier League and Champions League, and would have likely won the FA Cup if not for a surreal 15 minutes against Portsmouth in the quarter-finals.
It is the last great United squad created by Sir Alex Ferguson, and one that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag appeared to use as a North Star for their ideas of how to rebuild the club.
Present-day Arsenal are the best team in England, and look likely to win their fourth Premier League title come the end of the season. They have a squad well-equipped to meet the demands of football in this current era, but in a one-off game, against United’s time-travelling, European conquerors?
With all the typical hypotheticals that every player on both sides are match-fit?
Things might get hectic.
Arteta’s side would be facing a team that conceded only 22 goals in the league, with Edwin van der Sar marshalling one of the best back fours in Premier League history. Ronaldo had a 42-goal campaign on his way to his first-ever Ballon d’Or. Stop Ronaldo and you’ll have to deal with Rooney, who finished his United career having scored 13 goals against Arsenal and relished the opportunity to damage Ferguson’s classic foe.
Alex Ferguson with old foe Arsene Wenger in April 2008 (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2008, Rooney was a brilliant attacking facilitator, able to adapt his game to suit the needs of his team and cause the opposition the most harm. Tevez was a high-pressing attacking talent who would give many a defender a headache, and behind the trio came an assortment of midfielders, comfortable with regulating match tempo (Michael Carrick), breaking the lines with through balls (Paul Scholes), or whatever else a game might require.
The bench was deep, and capable. Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Park Ji-sung, Anderson and Wes Brown were among the high-end players that Ferguson could turn to. This team could press high, dominate possession within the final third and protect against counter-attacks due to their high number of players who relished a one-v-one tackle.
Arsenal’s threat from set pieces, and a possible hypothetical VAR, may mean this is a more finely poised match-up than Rooney has joked about. Would Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic stay on the right side of the match officials when tussling with Gabriel and William Saliba?
Patrice Evra vs Bukayo Saka would make for a fascinating duel. Arteta’s side rarely allows teams to launch counter-attacks against them in the same way that 2008 United devastated Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals.
Arsenal 2026 are good, and will likely finish this season being considered great. They might find the 2008 United a mountain too large to climb in 90 minutes.
Art: To be fair to Rooney, his response to Theo Walcott was justified based on the memories he would have from that season, but that 2008 United side may not have the easiest time against the 2026 Arsenal.
They thrashed a rotated Arsenal side 4-0 in the FA Cup that year, but they only managed a 2-2 draw and a 2-1 win over Arsene Wenger’s side in their Premier League meetings.
Carl’s point on how multifaceted that team was is valid, but it is also true of the current Arsenal team, even if neutrals spend most of their time focusing on set pieces.
In my opinion, the game would hinge on the individual battle between Saka and Evra. Evra was an ultra-offensive full-back who routinely burst into half-spaces, so tracking him better than the 2007-08 team (as seen below) would be essential.
How Saka and Arsenal utilised the space he’d vacate would make for great viewing, especially as, after watching their games back on the Premier League website, many of the goals United conceded that season were from open-play crosses.
This Arsenal could also choose to match the 4-4-2 that was in fashion at the time, as they have done in previous seasons with Kai Havertz alongside one of Leandro Trossard or Gabriel Jesus. If not, sticking to a midfield three could allow Declan Rice to take control from that area of the pitch, as Arsenal should have an extra man.
This Arsenal team also has the characters to withstand a scrap.
As for set pieces, United were just as strong as this Arsenal team, but the narrative is different. They ranked first in the Premier League for goals from corners that season (15) and conceded the fewest number of goals from corners (three). By comparison, Arsenal have scored 11 in this Premier League season, and conceded two, so both sides would have their work cut out to keep the other quiet.
Thinking back to that time, it wasn’t rare to see the ball bobbling around the penalty area in ‘Fergie time’ before it was bundled in by a United player. That was not held against them, but most likely because of the power they had in attack.
Their seven goals from fast-breaks that season ranked second-highest in the league, and would provide Arsenal with a problem they rarely come up against nowadays with teams set up in frustrating mid and low blocks.
Saliba and Gabriel have come out on top against Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, so they would probably still fancy a battle against arguably the best front three of the century.
It is the wide areas that may be the main concern, though, with a Ballon d’Or-winning Ronaldo a frightening prospect for any left-back.
Over 90 minutes, I reckon that United side would just edge it. I get and respect Rooney’s response, but I doubt it’d be a battering.
