Isaac Hayden admits he won't 'enjoy' going back the Emirates Stadium and won't be badging up the visit as a special occasion.
The midfielder didn't make a single appearance in the Premier League during his five year stint with the Gunners.
But Hayden still has plenty of friends at the club, however, he played down the significance of returning to North London.
He told the Chronicle: "I don't think you can enjoy it.
"You can enjoy it afterwards and look back, but when you go there it is a massive team opportunity for us.
"I know they have been in good home form and they're a good side but as we showed against Man City we can beat anybody on a given day.
"It's up to us to prepare properly.
"They haven't had a game for a little while either.
"They went out to Dubai for a training camp but we have prepared like we do for every game and I don't see why we can't go there with confidence to get a result."
Arsenal beat Man United 2-0 in their last game and have both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in excellent form.
But Hayden is not daunted, he added: "It's the same everywhere though.
"People could say that about City, they had Sergio Agüero, Leroy Sane etc.
"Names are names.
"But on any given day you go out and perform at your best and you'll get a result.
"It's something we'll look forward to and take note of.
"We'll take confidence from our recent performances."
The midfielder is hoping that United can go to the Emirates Stadium with confidence after already beating the champions this year.
He reflected: "Everybody has seen in the last couple of months that we don't give up - even when we are in bad situations.
"You could see in the Man City game people thought we'd fold but we came back and won the game.
"The Everton game was another example of that.
"At Bournemouth again, we came back.
"The lads are all pulling in the right direction and long may it continues."
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