Match Preview - FA Cup: Arsenal vs Man Utd

We face the current FA Cup holders, Manchester United, in the third round as we begin our pursuit of a 15th FA Cup triumph.

For Mikel Arteta, the FA Cup holds a special place in his heart, marking his only major trophy to date and symbolising the start of a new era for the club. That victory ignited a transformation, propelling us from eighth place in the Premier League to genuine title contenders in less than three seasons.

Manchester United, meanwhile, also have a rich history in the competition. Fresh off their triumph over rivals Manchester City in last season's final, they'll be looking to continue their impressive FA Cup run. Despite their underwhelming league season, United claimed their 13th FA Cup trophy, further cementing their status as one of the competition's most decorated clubs.

The Importance of the FA Cup for the Red Devils

After an inconsistent and inconclusive start to Ruben Amorim's tenure, United currently sit 13th in the Premier League, ten points adrift of the European places.

The winners of the FA Cup earn qualification for the Europa League in the following season. With this in mind, the FA Cup could represent United's best route into European football next season. This adds extra incentive for United's players, who thrive on being motivated for the biggest occasions.

United are searching for their first win in five matches, but will be bolstered by their unexpected yet highly impressive away performance against league leaders and rivals Liverpool, which earned them a valuable point.

Our only chance for silverware?

With Liverpool firmly in control of the Premier League title race and now facing the task of overcoming a two-goal deficit to reach the Carabao Cup final, does the FA Cup provide the most realistic chance for success for Mikel and his squad?

We have struggled to keep pace with the league leaders Liverpool throughout the season, drawing 35% of our matches. The current six-point gap at the halfway point can be overturned, but unfortunately, our fate is not in our hands.

Attention turned to the Carabao Cup this week and Tuesday night proved to be a disheartening night in the red side of North London as Newcastle, whose fans travelled in their thousands, left with a two-goal advantage heading into the second leg in February. Having already been beaten there without scoring this season in the league, the general feeling is that a trip to Wembley in March is unlikely.

That said, we've been one of the standout teams in the new-style Champions League and are among the favourites to lift the trophy. However, history isn't on our side, as we have never won the competition and often seem to falter away from home in the knockout stages.

The common view from many is that this excellent, exciting Arsenal side needs to win a trophy this season, and the FA Cup may just be the competition where that happens.

What the managers say

Mikel Arteta:

On whether his FA Cup final win in 2020 was his best day in management: "The memory of winning something and celebrating and sharing it with your people is the ultimate goal. I will never forget the process and the people that you meet, but overall, I have great memories about the competition."

On what he's made of Ruben Amorim at United so far: "When you look especially at the big teams [they've played], how they perform and the results that they've got, it's very impressive. I followed him a lot when he was in Portugal, and there is a big reason why he is where he is at the moment, and he deserves to be there."

On the importance of wearing the 'No More Red' shirt on Sunday: "It's great because we have so many people who put in so much effort, dedicating their lives to try to improve the quality in so many people's lives, creating safe spaces and safe environments. When we get the opportunity to raise that on such a big occasion, we have to do it. Well done to the club, and well done to everybody that is participating in that because they put so much effort into it, and the impact is huge."

Ruben Amorim:

On the league or the cup being more important: "My focus is day by day; we just want to win this game and then we will think about the next one. I think we have to put the best team out; we have to win and we have to follow the last performance [v Liverpool]."

On noticing a change in mentality following their performance at Anfield: "It's so much easier with training, and then the environment is different because they felt the confidence in the performance. But we can say anything after a match or during a week; we have to show it in the next game, so we are focused on that."

Team News

Our fitness woes are easing as we prepare to face Manchester United. After being hit by illness around the turn of the year, both Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard started in our defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Raheem Sterling is also back after recovering from a knee injury suffered last month.

Summer signing Neto could be in line to make his Arsenal debut after joining on loan from Bournemouth in the summer.

Ruben Amorim confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start in goal for Sunday's clash.

He also announced Marcus Rashford will be available for selection after missing their game against Liverpool due to illness.

Statistics and Facts

Gabriel Jesus has scored six goals in his last six games, but has only found the net once in 14 appearances against Manchester United.

Only Cole Palmer (57) and Anthony Gordon (47) have created more chances than Bruno Fernandes' total of 43 chances created in the Premier League this season.

This will be the 16th different cup tie between us and Manchester United, the second-most of any fixture in the competition's history, behind Liverpool versus Everton (19 ties).

However, it will be the first time the FA Cup's two most decorated clubs have met in the third round.

We have been eliminated in the third round of the FA Cup twice in the last three years, having previously only fallen at this stage once in 25 seasons.

Match Officials

Andrew Madley will officiate our clash with the Red Devils on Sunday afternoon at the Emirates.

The Yorkshire-born referee has already overseen both clubs in the Carabao Cup this season, including Man United's 5-2 win over Leicester in the fourth round and our quarter-final triumph over Crystal Palace last month.

He has averaged four cards per game across all competitions this season.

VAR will not be in use for the third round of the FA Cup this season.

The FA announced this decision "ensures that there is a consistent refereeing approach for all clubs taking part in the same stage of the competition."

The technology will only be in place from the fifth round onwards.

Referee: Andrew Madley

Assistants: Nick Hopton, Craig Taylor

Fourth Official: Michael Salisbury