League Division One · Matchday 20

Manchester United v Arsenal

4–1

Saturday 17th December 1927 · Old Trafford · Att: 18,120

Manchester United beat Arsenal 4–1 at Old Trafford on Saturday 17th December 1927 in the League Division One. Joe Spence (20'), Edward Partridge (52'), Francis McPherson (75') and James Hanson (77') scored for United.

Timeline

Running score

Kick Off
20' Joe Spence 1–0
38' Jack Wilson OG 1–1
Half Time
52' Edward Partridge 2–1
75' Francis McPherson 3–1
77' James Hanson 4–1
Full Time 4–1

Match Facts

Starting XI

Player

1 Lancelot Richardson

2 Charlie Moore

3 Thomas (1924-1937) Jones

4 Samuel Bennion

5 Frank Mann

6 John "Jack" Wilson 38'

7 Joe Spence 20'

8 Edward Partridge 52'

9 James Hanson 77'

10 William Johnston

11 Frank McPherson 75'

Substitutes

Substitutes were not permitted

Managers

MUFC

Herbert Bamlett

Manchester United

OPP

Herbert Chapman

Arsenal

United vs Arsenal History

Meeting 46 of 245

245

Played

100

Won

Drawn

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 46 times: 19W 7D 20L.

16 Jan 1926 L 2–3 D1 15 Sep 1926 D 2–2 D1 28 Dec 1926 L 0–1 D1

17 Dec 1927 W 4–1 This match

28 Apr 1928 W 1–0 D1 8 Dec 1928 L 1–3 D1 20 Apr 1929 W 4–1 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

All 245 meetings with Arsenal →

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 →