Manchester United hero Mikael Silvestre revealed he would rather join if he played today.

and the Gunners, two of Silvestre’s former clubs in England, go head to head on Sunday in the Premier League. ’s Red Devils have the chance to land a by firmly ending , while ’s men will look to compound their rivals' current misery at Old Trafford.

Former defender Silvestre, 47, will be keeping a particularly keen eye on the afternoon’s action. The Frenchman first signed for Sir Alex Ferguson’s United from Inter Milan in 1999, arriving in a £4million deal.

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He spent nine years at Old Trafford, winning the Champions League, FA Cup and five Premier League titles with the Red Devils. But, in 2008, veteran Silvestre completed a in north London, at the behest of then-Arsenal manager and compatriot Arsene Wenger.

Silvestre, speaking to 's Andy Goldstein and Darren Bent last year about his time with each of the bitter rivals, admitted that while he supports United, he still has a soft spot for the Gunners. And he had no hesitation in answering who he’d rather join at this moment in time if he still played.

He said: "When you have been travelling as much as I did, you still look back and support the clubs you played for. But, as you know, nine years at United is a long time in one career. If you asked me to pick, it would be more United, but I had a great time at Arsenal."

Goldstein later probed Silvestre to pick between United and Arsenal again, this time based on who he would want to join if he were still playing and wanted to win the Premier League.

The former France defender replied: "I would go to Arsenal right now. I am not a patient guy!" And when quizzed if he believed Arsenal would win the league before United, Silvestre simply said: "Yes."

Players who have crossed the divide between United and Arsenal in the Premier League era are few and far between. Alexis Sanchez is perhaps the most well-known, alongside Danny Welbeck, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Andy Cole and Robin van Persie – each enjoying varying levels of success.

Despite the fierce rivalry during the eras of Ferguson and Wenger being etched into the memory of fans, the fixture in recent years has been a less tense affair - initially owing to Arsenal's decline, and more lately due to a faltering United. While Arsenal have competed for the title in each of the past three seasons and are currently second in the league, the Red Devils are languishing in the bottom half of the table.