Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn has suggested that the club have 'fallen down the pecking order' when it comes to signing top players, along with Sunday's opponents Manchester United.
The 56-year-old, who played for Arsenal between 1987 and 2000, told FreeSuperTips that as a result, the fixture has lost its spark in recent years with the decline of the two Premier League heavyweights from their title-winning days.
The two rivals meet at Old Trafford in a crunch encounter, with the hosts in good form after a resounding 5-0 victory in midweek against RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Winterburn believes that in his day the winner would have a 'great chance' of lifting the Premier League but things have changed a lot since then.
"Manchester United and Arsenal has lost its cutting edge as the game is not as physical as it once was, and both teams are no longer feared in the Premier League like they were when I was playing," he said.
"When I was coming through, Manchester United were the team that everyone in the Premier League was desperate to beat.
"At Arsenal, you always felt that if you beat Manchester United in the league, then you would finish ahead of them and have a great chance of winning the title.
"Those games, you had added intensity because of the history and incidents that would happen that made those games so special, and as a player you wanted to be a part of those games."
Both clubs have made a number of big-name signings in recent years.
United lured Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes from Sporting in January, while Arsenal welcomed Atletico Madrid's Thomas Partey earlier this month.
But Winterburn believes top players no longer view either club as a favourable footballing destination.
"They are still two huge clubs, but they’re not teams that are fighting for the title and have both fallen down the pecking order when it comes to signing the best players," he continued.
"Arsenal were always going head-to-head with Manchester United for league titles, and that is where the intensity stemmed from and where they have both fell off in recent years, the game has lost its edge.
"It must be said that the rivalry is not what it was, but it is still a huge game which the players should be able to motivate themselves for."
Mikel Arteta 's side will be looking to register their second win in a row over Sunday's opponents, having triumphed in their last encounter on New Year's Day.
