Arsenal vs Manchester United: Preview of huge FA Cup 3rd round clash

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Arsenal take on Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon in undoubtedly the marquee tie of the FA Cup 3rd round.

It’s been another frustrating week for the Gunners as our title dreams were dented by another disappointing draw – this time away to Brighton last weekend. After taking the lead through Ethan Nwaneri in the 16th minute, Arsenal appeared to be in total control of the game with Brighton struggling to create any clear cut chances.

However, midway through the second half, the hosts were given the perfect opportunity to equalise when William Saliba gave away a penalty following an innocuous clash of heads with Joao Pedro. Saliba caught the Brighton striker with a slight touch to the head as they contested a high ball and while replays showed the Arsenal man got a touch on the ball, the referee pointed to the spot. It was extremely harsh on Arsenal as I’ve never seen a penalty given for an accidental clash of heads, but Brighton took full advantage to make it 1-1.

We couldn’t find a winner so had to settle for a draw, and remain six points behind leaders Liverpool having played an extra game. The draws with Brighton, Everton and Fulham in recent weeks have really damaged our hopes of lifting the title this season. We’re going to need to go on a long winning run and hope the Merseysiders suffer a collapse if we’re to get ourselves back in the title hunt.

Mikel Arteta is under pressure to win a trophy and the most realistic opportunity was in the Carabao Cup. However, we now face an uphill battle to reach the final after crashing to an unfortunate 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the first leg at the Emirates on Tuesday night. Despite dominating the game for long periods and creating a number of excellent opportunities, Arsenal just couldn’t finish our chances and it was Newcastle who broke the deadlock.

A fortunate deflection from a long ball saw the ball fall straight to Alexander Isak 8 yards out and the in-form Swedish international made no mistake to make it 0-1 just before half-time. The goal came just minutes after Gabriel Martinelli had clattered the post so it was a real turning point in the game.

Newcastle doubled their lead shortly after the break when Anthony Gordon tapped home after Isak’s shot was parried into his path by David Raya. It was another stroke of luck for the visitors, and another frustrating blow for Arsenal. We still manage to create numerous chances to get back in the game but failed to find the back of the net – Kai Havertz missing a sitter from 6 yards summing up Arsenal’s night.

Arsenal now face a season-defining few weeks as we take on Tottenham and Aston Villa next in the league after Sunday’s huge FA Cup 3rd round clash with Manchester United. Such a tough run would be difficult at the best of times, but it’s come at an awful time for Arsenal as our squad has been stretched by injuries, suspensions and illness throughout the squad, so it’s going to be interesting to see how we cope with three huge games over the coming 10 days.

Fans with Arsenal tickets were probably looking forward to welcoming United to North London a week ago as the Red Devils were on a horrendous run that saw them lose four games in a row including defeats to Bournemouth and Wolves. However, the task seems a lot more difficult following their impressive 2-2 draw away to Liverpool last Sunday.

Ruben Amorim has endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford but the spirited performance at Anfield last time out could be seen as a turning point for Man Utd’s season and they’ll come to North London in confident mood. That wouldn’t have been the case a week ago, so Arsenal are perhaps unfortunate to be meeting United straight after their confidence-boosting draw at Liverpool.

Team news

Arsenal will continue to be without the services of Bukayo Saka. The influential winger has been ruled out until early March following hamstring surgery and he’ll be a massive miss this weekend.

Ben White is another long-term absentee for Arsenal as the defender is still recovering from a knee injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu is also still working his way back to full fitness from a knee problem but there’s hope he could return in the next couple of weeks.

Ethan Nwaneri was enjoying a run in the team while Saka is out but sadly the teenager picked up a muscle injury against Brighton and will be out for a few weeks.

Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and David Raya all played against Newcastle despite suffering from illness. They will need to be assessed to ensure they can play against Man Utd.

There is some positive news as Raheem Sterling was back on the bench after a knee injury so he could feature on Sunday. Gabriel Jesus, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino are also pushing for recalls after being on the bench in midweek.

As for Man Utd, Luke Shaw remains on the sidelines after suffering a set-back in his recovery while Victor Lindelof is also expected to miss the trip to London. Mason Mount is out with a thigh injury and Marcus Rashford is unlikely to be involved amid speculation he’ll be leaving United this month.

Prediction

This is a massive game for both clubs. Arsenal need to win something this season and with the league and EFL Cup now looking unlikely, the FA Cup could be our best bet for silverware so it would be a huge blow to be knocked out at the 3rd round. United on the other hand will be desperate to build some positive momentum after drawing at Liverpool and Amorim could also be eyeing a run at the FA Cup to get his hands on a trophy in his first season.

A titanic clash with old foes Manchester United is probably the last thing Arteta wanted in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. He’d have hoped for a game against a lower league side so he could rest some key players. However, it’s the hand we’ve been dealt and we’re going to have to hope the squad can get through this period unscathed.

Despite the result on Tuesday night, Arsenal actually played pretty well and created a number of chances [xG 3.67]. If we play like that on Sunday, you’d like to think our luck will change and we’ll score a couple of goals. United were far better at Anfield on Sunday but their defence is still vulnerable and Arsenal will fancy their chances this weekend.

I’m predicting a 2-1 Arsenal win. Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd

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