Arsenal v Manchester United: FA Cup fourth round – live!

“I kind of like what Ole has done tonight,” says Mark Childs. “Romero has to play at some point, and he has played in a World Cup final so he’s not bad. Bailly is always an improvement on Jones. And he’s kept a strong team, giving a motivated Lukaku and Sanchez the opportunity to play well. I wonder where he could have got the idea for playing the two back-up strikers against Arsenal in an FA Cup tie? Didn’t turn out so badly in the ’99 replay…”

Ha, that’s a good point. Although they don’t have Juventus in the semi-final next week. I would definitely have played Rashford and probably Martial.

Unai Emery speaks! “We need to start with the first XI but on the bench we have players who can help us. We have been very consistent at home. We know today is very difficult. We want to produce our best performance and show our quality and commitment.”

An email!

“Rob, totally agree that this has been the best rivalry in English football, at least in my lifetime,” says Andrew McLaughlin. “As an Arsenal fan, it was simultaneously heartbreaking and amazing to see Ryan Giggs pick up an errant pass by Vieira (of all people) and blow through the famed Arsenal backline in that 1999 FA Cup semi-final. United were steered by destiny that season. I can’t think of any other explanation for the way all the fine margins tilted their way, even in the Champions League.

“And while I can recall several times when Arsenal delivered a great shot to United’s body, like Marc Overmars at Old Trafford in 97-98 or Thierry Henry’s amazing turn and volley at Highbury in 2000-01, I still feel like Arsenal should have done more to disrupt and disturb United’s dominance. United are more a bogey team for Arsenal than the other way around, and now, with United flying on an emotional high, something I don’t detect in the ether at Arsenal, I think today could be United’s day.”

Yes, Arsenal could never quite shake United off, even when they were obviously superior in the early 2000s. It must irk them that they never retained the title. They should probably have won it in 2002-03, which would have given them three in a row from 2001-04, but then United will feel they should have won in 1997-98. Both teams played the hunter and the hunted at different times.

Ah, man, that rivalry was as good as football will ever get.

Remember When (part 731212432354) The last time Arsenal played at home to United in the FA Cup was that wonderfully hateful fifth-round match in 1988, when Nigel Winterburn took exception to Brian McClair’s existence.

The FA Cup is United’s only realistic chance of a trophy – a Liverpool 2005-style miracle notwithstanding – so it’s slightly surprising that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has rested David De Gea, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Unai Emery hasn’t rotated any of his outfield players, so there’s no place in the starting XI for Mesut Ozil. It’s not yet clear whether Arsenal will play a diamond midfield or 4-2-3-1.

Arsenal (possible 4-D-2) Cech; Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Koscielny, Kolasinac; Xhaka; Torreira, Ramsey; Iwobi; Aubameyang, Lacazette.
Substitutes: Leno, Mustafi, Monreal, Lichtsteiner, Elneny, Guendouzi, Ozil.

Manchester United (4-3-3) Romero; Young, Bailly, Lindelof, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Lingard, Lukaku, Alexis.
Substitutes: Grant, Dalot, Jones, Fred, Mata, Martial, Rashford.

Referee Craig Pawson.

No English fixture comes with as many history lessons as Arsenal v Manchester United. There are two main reasons for that. The rivalry from 1996-2005 was, in my correct opinion, the greatest in English football history; and the teams aren’t what they used to be. Good times then, bad times now: the combination is conducive to the kind of easy, comforting nostalgia usually reserved for the lonely, self-loathing man propping up the bar and staring absent-mindedly at the top shelf.

There’s an upside to the downside, though. These teams aren’t going to win the league this year, and therefore the FA Cup really matters. You could argue that none of the other 30 teams left in the competition want or need to win it as much as Arsenal and United, so this match should crackle with oldfangled intensity.

The mood of both teams has changed significantly since United shambled to a 2-2 draw at home to Arsenal in the Premier League at the start of December. Arsenal’s form has been iffy of late but they remain extremely strong at home, and have administered emphatic beatings upon Spurs and Chelsea in the last couple of months. United’s form everywhere has been excellent under Ole Solskjaer, with seven wins out of seven, though they were very fortunate to win at Spurs in their one really big match.

All bets are off, all results are possible and nobody knows anything. It should be a cracker.

Kick off is at the evocative time of 7.55pm.