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)
