It’s always a special occasion when Arsenal travel to Manchester United. But in recent years a game which used to be the Premier League's jewel in the crown, has had an atmosphere around it of two teams trying to live up to former glories.
In fact, there has almost been a sense of nostalgia when they faced up against each other at either Old Trafford or the Emirates.
The clubs may have been the same, but the standards and expectations had changed dramatically.
But Sunday’s meeting in Manchester feels a bit different, certainly from an Arsenal point of view.
Mikel Arteta’s side go to Old Trafford sitting top of the Premier League having won their opening five games of the season for just the fourth time in the club’s history.
It’s been nine years since Arsenal travelled to the red half of Manchester sitting top of the pile in England and there are many who are now wondering whether they could have it within themselves to try and stay there.
So Sunday’s game has a lot riding it for Arsenal.
Most expect them to fail, as they always seem to at Old Trafford. So if there was ever an opportunity to make people take them seriously, this is it.
“You need to believe that you will do it,” Mikel Arteta said ahead of the game.
“If you can play the way you want to play, you will win football matches. We’ve done it, and that’s the belief that we have.”
Arsenal’s start - as impressive as it has been - has still been brushed off by many, who all point to the teams they have come up against during the opening weeks of the campaign.
A win at Old Trafford, however, would make even the loudest of doubters stand up and take notice.
And for the first time in a long time, it’s not something that you would consider beyond this Arsenal team.
There has been a notable shift of belief around the club, one that has been fuelled by the start the season they have enjoyed.
The five game winning run has generated real confidence within the squad, not just because of the wins, but also the way they have been secured.
Twice they were pegged back by Leicester and on each occasion Arteta’s side responded with a goal themselves almost immediately.
An awful error from Gabriel Magalhaes then gifted Fulham a second half lead at Emirates Stadium last weekend, only for Arsenal to turn things around and snatch all three points late on.
And then on Wednesday night an excellent performance against Aston Villa looked set to end in disappointment when the visitors struck in the final 20 minutes to make it 1-1.
But again, within two minutes of the restart, Arsenal regained their lead through Gabriel Martnelli to secure all three points.
Responding quickly to adversity has been a running theme of the season. It’s a new found mentality we’ve not seen much of from Arsenal in recent years.
“I think it was the biggest goal for us, to change this mentality,” midfielder Granit Xhaka said.
“I’ve been here seven years and I saw a lot of things, good and bad things, but we were always struggling a little bit in this way.
“You could play good football, but sometimes the 50-50 ball, the 50-50 games, you have to take it for you.
“And I think on Wednesday [against Villa] we won the 50-50 duels. Then you turn everything around and you start to believe in each other a little more. The fans start to believe in us as well and this is football.
“It’s not only with the ball, but without the ball as well. I think the game changer at the moment is the mentality.”
Transforming the mentality around Arsenal has been one of Arteta’s primary focuses since he replaced Unai Emery in 2019.
When he arrived he walked into a club that had lost its way, that was used to losing.
And so has spent the past few years doing all he can to eradicate that mindset and replace it with a culture that is all about winning. Not just at the weekend, but every single day at London Colney.
“The coach has been here three years and he demands every training, every day to win,” said Xhaka. “It doesn’t matter what we do in the training, if it’s ball possession, if it’s games, small games against each other, he is putting us on a list - who is the winner, who is the loser - and in the end you can see the table.
”This is what we have to do. We have to put each other in a big challenge.
“Of course with Gabi Jesus and Alex [Oleksandr Znchenko] you bring people in and they know what it is to win. They have helped us a lot for sure, but other guys are doing their job as well.”
Xhaka added: “I knew the project. The project was five years. We are now in the third year. It’s the half of the project and we are in a good way.
“We are looking very good and very dangerous. So we have to keep working and believing in ourselves.”
While Arsenal’s start to the season has been smooth sailing so far, United’s has been anything but.
Two defeats in a row, including a 4-0 drubbing at Brentford, saw them widely written off - but talk of any crisis has now died down following three successive wins which have moved them up to fifth in the Premier League ahead of this weekend’s fixture.
Erik ten Hag now finds himself in a similar position to the one Arteta was in when he first arrived at Arsenal, looking to slam the brakes on years of decline by overhauling an unbalanced squad which is full of big names on big money.
There are some signs that he is beginning to get his point across and he made some big decisions, such as dropping Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire, but he just has to look at what’s gone on at Arsenal to know that there is no quick fix.
It takes time to turn things round and ten Hag would do well to take note of exactly what has gone on at Arsenal since Arteta was appointed.
“They are in the same position maybe that we were three years ago,” said Xhaka. “They are building something as well.
“I know they are maybe not looking so good at the moment, but it’s Manchester United. It’s always difficult.
“We have respect for them, but we go there to take the three points.”
There's no doubt this is Arsenal's biggest test of the season so far.
It's an opportunity to make a real statement. If they take it, then the rest of the Premier League might really start to stand up and take notice of what's going on in north London.