Thanks for the replies, I have noted the difference between the seats and the position of the armrest however on the Emirates website when I select my seats for the Manchester Dubai leg the 12 E/F seats appear together and the 9 E/F appear apart, where on the Dubai Sydney leg it's the opposite way round, so I am assuming that the aircraft are a different configuration. Re the post above on the my booking page on the configuration it is showing, there is no row 18 ?anyone any ideas.
Would it be worth ringing or e mailing Emirates to confirm,but of course they can change aircraft without consultation anyway.