Would Man Utd 2008 really ‘batter’ Arsenal 2026?

Maybe Theo Walcott realised what he had said as soon as the words left his mouth.

Walcott was talking to Wayne Rooney when he appeared to question if the Manchester United team of 2008 could “compete” with the Arsenal side of today.

Asked how they compare, Rooney did not hesitate for a second.

“Yeah, we’d batter them,” United’s all-time record goalscorer answered.

Of course, you would expect him to say that considering he was part of the United team.

In fairness to Walcott, he did also say the United side of ’08 were “probably the best team that I’ve ever played against”.

Rooney and Walcott were working as pundits for Amazon Prime during Arsenal‘s 3-1 win at Inter Milan in the Champions League.

It was a result which continued the Gunners’ 100% record in the league phase. They are seven points clear at the top of the Premier League and hold a 3-2 advantage over Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

With a home time against League Out outfit Wigan Athletic in the fourth round of the FA Cup, an unprecedented quadruple is very much alive.

But was former Arsenal winger Walcott right to even make such a comparison?

It took United seven years to sign a suitable replacement for Peter Schmeichel.

In Edwin van der Sar they found an experienced and solid goalkeeper who could finally provide the same commanding presence.

Van der Sar was 37 by the time the 2008 Champions League final came along.

You might think the Netherlands international was at the end of his career. He would in fact play on at Old Trafford for another three years.

David Raya, 30, is perhaps a goalkeeper more suited to the modern game – athletic, comfortable with the ball at his feet and with key distributions skills.

If we were making this judgement purely on trophies then Van der Sar bosses it. Between Ajax and United, up to 2008 he had won the Champions League twice, six league titles and four domestic cups – to name a few of his medals.

Raya, meanwhile, has yet to win any domestic honours. He has won titles with Spain, at Euro 2024 and the Nations League, but as back-up to Unai Simon.

So, on achievements, it is Van der Sar who wins hands down.

But if you want a goalkeeper for the modern day, maybe it is Raya.

Let’s get one thing clear: Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are the standout central defensive partnership. Case closed.

That is no slight on William Saliba and Gabriel. You just cannot compete with the United pair at the heart of the defence.

Yet this is not just about central defenders.

Arsenal have put together not only good first-choice players but a very strong unit which is capable of dealing with injury setbacks.

After Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber as full-backs, there are Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie.

For United, Patrice Evra excelled on the left, but would Wes Brown get into many top teams today?

John O’Shea and Mikael Silvestre were among those in reserve (Gary Neville missed the season through injury).

With Vidic and Ferdinand, it means the first-choice defence is United’s. But does Arsenal‘s strength in depth edge it?

Just look at United’s attack.

You have got Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2008 and would go on to be one of the greatest players of all time.

Then Rooney, who would go on to be the all-time top goalscorer for United and England.

And, while Carlos Tevez’s time at Old Trafford was not prolific, he scored 14 Premier League goals in 2007-08.

It was a forward line to fear. Up to this stage of the season, Ronaldo had scored 22 goals, Tevez 12 and Rooney nine.

Who do Arsenal have? Viktor Gyokeres, a striker who may go on to excel but, so far, has not lived up to his £55m transfer fee.

Bukayo Saka is clearly a world-class player out wide. But it is hard to make a case for Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard or Noni Madueke.

Gyokeres and Martinelli have nine goals this season, with Saka and Trossard on seven.

In midfield Declan Rice has to be considered one of the best in the world today, playing alongside Martin Odegaard and Martin Zubimendi.

But Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes were superb for Alex Ferguson.

Did we mention Ryan Giggs came off the bench in the Champions League final too? It is United ’08, no doubt.

If we go on goals alone, the teams have almost identical records in the top two competitions at the same stage of the season.

United had scored 57 goals in 28 games (2.04 per game).

For Arsenal it is 60 goals in 29 games (2.07).

But United created markedly more chances. They had took 505 shots at 18.04 per game.

Arsenal have taken 438 shots at 15.10 a match.

You could say Arsenal were the more efficient team.

If we are going on creativity, then United win again.

It has been a narrative for much of this season – Arsenal are relying heavily on set-pieces to win games.

Yet the numbers, excluding penalties, for the Premier League and the Champions League are fairly similar.

United had netted 15 of their 57 goals from set plays (26%).

So far in this campaign Arsenal have 19 set-piece goals from their 60 scored (32%).

It will not come as a surprise to see the Gunners come out on top, but it is not by much.

Arsenal do win on own goals, though, benefiting from five compared to United’s one.

Forget individual players. Ignore scoring chances. Now we get down to what really matters.

There is only one true barometer when it comes to comparing teams: silverware.

The 2008 United squad were at the very top of the game and were the reigning Premier League champions.

In the 2007-08 season they won the Champions League and retained their Premier League title. They would go on to add a third in 2008-09 as well.

This Arsenal squad have not won anything. The last trophy the club won was the FA Cup in 2019-20.

Until they do, there should be no real comparison.

Maybe Walcott subconsciously feels Arsenal are not getting the credit for their performances this season.

That will come in the form of trophies.

On this measure alone, United would, as Rooney said, “batter them”.