FA Cup · Final
Manchester United v Arsenal
2–3
Manchester United lost 2–3 to Arsenal at Wembley (N) on Saturday 12th May 1979 in the FA Cup. Gordon McQueen (86') and Sammy McIlroy (88') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 12' Brian Talbot 0–1
- 43' Frank Stapleton 0–2
- Half Time
- 86' Gordon McQueen 1–2
- 88' Sammy McIlroy 2–2
- 89' Alan Sunderland 2–3
- Full Time 2–3
Match Facts
Starting XI
Substitutes
No substitutes recorded
Managers
MUFC
Dave Sexton
Manchester United
OPP
Terry Neill
Arsenal
United vs Arsenal History
Meeting 127 of 245
245
Played
100
Won
55
Drawn
90
Lost
368
Goals For
349
Goals Against
All-time record, from the first meeting on Saturday 13th October 1894. After this match United had played Arsenal 127 times: 52W 22D 53L.
1 Apr 1978 L 1–3 D1 23 Sep 1978 D 1–1 D1 3 Feb 1979 L 0–2 D1
12 May 1979 L 2–3 This match
25 Aug 1979 D 0–0 D1 29 Dec 1979 W 3–0 D1 11 Oct 1980 D 0–0 D1 | All-time | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 117 | 66 | 30 | 21 | 211 | 104 | 56.4 |
| Away | 117 | 31 | 21 | 65 | 146 | 230 | 26.5 |
| Neutral | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 27.3 |
Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →