United vs. Arsenal FA Cup Match Preview

Manchester United:

Injuries: Robin van Persie remains out with his ankle injury. Luke Shaw will likely make his return from the fatigue and injury that kept him out of the past two matches. Jonny Evans is suspended for the next six games due to the infamous spitting incident with Papiss Cisse in the Newcastle match. Phil Jones is also likely to return.

Last 5 Matches: D-W-L-W-W

Likely formation: 4-2-3-1

Storyline:

This could be United's biggest game of the season. With the squad mostly at full health, the game against Arsenal will prove to be a measurement of van Gaal's success with United up til this point. There's plenty of speculation about the importance of the match, particularly after van Gaal himself came out and said Champions League qualification is more important than the FA Cup trophy. Still, I for one do not want to see United give anything but their best effort against the Gunners. With Liverpool having drawn Blackburn in their match up, they’ll have another game to play midweek before facing United in the EPL. Thus, it’s crucial that United avoid a replay match, as they’ll be in the same situation as Liverpool and will lose the advantage of extra rest.

"Of course, I think it is a massive trophy. It is a trophy that, growing up as a youngster, I used to love watching and I was fortunate enough to see Everton lift the FA Cup in 1995 when I was nine years old. It I something which I would love to do and hopefully it can be this year." - Wayne Rooney (Sky Sports)

In the last match, United got the win thanks to a late mistake from Tim Krul. Young was able to finish a poor clearance from the Newcastle keeper to give United the late victory. United, for the most part, were able to dominate possession and the scoring chances on route to the three points, with Newcastle’s biggest chance coming on a United foul in the box that would go uncalled.

Luke Shaw will be back in the squad at left back, meaning Rojo will slide over to where Evans played the last two games. The right side of the defense will likely remain a partnership between Chris Smalling, as the duo have played well recently. A key factor to this game could be how well Valencia handles Alexis Sanchez’s physicality and pace. As noted in my piece for Red Devil Armada, I’d prefer to see Rafael in the right back spot so Valencia could push into the midfield, but I don’t see van Gaal using Rafael.

In midfield, the holding midfielders will likely consist of Blind and Herrera, as has been the case recently. The two have played well for the most part, aside from the mediocre showing against Newcastle in the last match. They’ll need to be better in defense at containing the skilled Arsenal midfielders, however. If they don’t step up, Michael Carrick could enter the game as a sub. Out wide, look for Ashley Young to play on the left and Angel di Maria to play on the right. Young has been in great form, and I expect that to continue in this match up as he’ll have space to work if Arsenal persist with a 4-3-3. My hope is that di Maria will also have a decent game. Granted, I wouldn’t start him if I was van Gaal, but he could have success with his pace against the Arsenal back line. At attacking midfield, the most likely candidate to start is Fellaini. While he doesn’t have the foot skills of Juan Mata, his physicality will be useful, along with his ability to drop into a deeper role if necessary.

Assuming van Gaal goes with Fellaini in that position, Rooney would be the obvious choice to start up front against Arsenal. Unfortunately for Falcao, even after helping United secure the win against Sunderland, it looks as though van Gaal has lost patience with him. In this big of a match up, I see van Gaal going with the skipper at striker based on his experience and class. Granted, if Rooney starts in the midfield, Falcao would be the next in line to start at striker.

Arsenal:

Injuries: Goalkeeper Wozniack Szczesny could make his returned to the squad after dealing with illness for some time now. Defender Gabriel Paulista will miss the match while defender Nacho Monreal could pass a fitness test and return to the team. It’s uncertain if Wilshere or Arteta will return for the match, though it looks unlikely.

Last 5 Matches: W-W-L-W-W

Storyline:

Arsenal come into the match up in good form and looking to defend last season's FA Cup title, having won four of the last five games with the defeat coming against Monaco in the Champions League. Arsene Wenger has his squad playing pretty well, and they’ll need to be at their best to overturn a long spell with no wins against United. They'll look to avenge the 8-2 thrashing they felt from United back in 2011. In addition, Wenger came out and said he is still haunted by the 1999 FA Cup Semifinal defeat at the hands of United, in which Ryan Giggs’ gave the Red Devils a win through an injury-time goal. 

History aside, this could be Arsenal’s best chance to hand United an FA Cup defeat in a long time. Alexis Sanchez is playing well this season, having amassed 18 goals and 8 assists in 31 appearances for Arsenal this season. The Chilean forward and winger will be extremely influential in Arsenal’s chances of winning, along with that of Per Mertesacker who has been struggling of late. Mesut Ozil is also under pressure as many pundits and fans have been criticizing the German for not showing enough effort on the pitch. Also of note is the fact that this will be Danny Welbeck’s first visit to Old Trafford since leaving on transfer last summer.

Prediction: This match is not going to be pretty. Both sides will need to gut it out to have a chance at moving on to the semis of the Cup and tempers could flare at some point. The keys for United will be to capitalize on their chances and to prevent Arsenal from scoring on counter attacks. Arsenal will need to cope with United’s endless possession. This game has the potential to end in a draw with neither side being able to get a goal, but I’ll take a slightly more optimistic approach and say that United will go on to win 1-0, possibly on a Fellaini header from a set piece. 

Image credit: Goal.com
Video credit: The FA Cup channel on YouTube