After what was an unlikely victory for Erik ten Hag's MUFC over Man City in last season's final to salvage something from a truly awful campaign, with how the Dutchman left things and how it's gone since his departure, the FA Cup could be a shining light for his replacement Ruben Amorim too as 24/25 has somehow gone even worse than a forgetful 23/24.
But in order to win back-to-back FA Cups, United need to first overcome a familiar foe in Arsenal. The two most successful sides in the competition's history and two great rivals across the years in the oldest cup competition in football do battle once again in what should be a cracker of a 3rd Round.
Arteta's gunners gunned down Ruben's Reds not so long ago in the league with the Spaniard hoping for something similar this time round in a tournament that has given him his only trophy at Arsenal in his 5 years at the club.
Amorim will be looking to exact revenge for that 2-0 loss in December despite what was an encouraging first half display from his players.
Opening weekend of the FA Cup. Two great rivals. Should be a good one 🍿.
Predicted Lineup
Amorim did confirm that backup goalkeeper Bayindir will replace Onana between the sticks but other than that, I would expect the exact same team that was selected for Liverpool to be the lineup again barring any injuries or illnesses. With a week off, they should be fresh for Sunday.
The XI worked really well at Anfield and helped give us the best performance of the season.
Facing another tough opponent away from home in such a short space of time, I doubt that the manager will want to change things when they went so well in the last game.
The players are also in a rhythm and would've developed some sort of a relationship and understanding with each other in that thrilling draw.
For anyone thinking there will be rotation, I think you would be wrong to do so. I believe that Amorim will take this game and tournament seriously and other than that team chemistry, this XI is the best available at the moment.
Approach
The manager will be looking to do more of the same as what was seen at Anfield.
That performance like I said, was our best this season and while we did play in a similar manner at City and Arsenal (although it was just the first 45 at The Emirates) the difference against Liverpool was that we paired this control in possession with doing something going forward.
In the meeting back in December, United had just 5 shots at goal against Arteta's side with only 2 on target. At Anfield, we had a total of 13 shots with 4 on target, an increase of almost 3x more.
A lot of these opportunities came down United's left as they took advantage of Trent Alexander-Arnold's deficiencies as a defender. Diogo Dalot in particular had a lot of joy down that flank and had a chance of his own that was blocked by Virgil van Dijk in the box.
Both United's goals also came from that side.
This shows that there could be a chance down the left for MUFC going forward but it could depend on the full-back Arsenal line up. I also don't think that any of their full-backs are as bad as Alexander-Arnold though.
Amorim's side, particularly in the second half against Liverpool, were also a lot braver in possession and in the final third. The manager expressed his desires for his players to be 'braver' before the game at Liverpool as well as Arsenal a month ago.
Should we want to get the win, we will need to be brave on the ball and clinical when the chances arise.
We will also need to be better from corners. Arsenal are the absolute masters of the corner and in their 2-0 win against United this season, both their goals came from their now famous set-piece. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba putting the ball in the net to give them the 3 points on that occasion.
However, all 13 of Arsenal's corners posed a threat as they could've scored from all of them. Amorim said that he wants his team to be better at set-pieces in general as any ball into the box, be it from a corner, free-kick or open play, almost always cause United problems.
With Arsenal dropping the ball right onto the goalkeeper's head, there will be the concern that the ball could go straight in. On our last trip to the capital, Spurs and Son Heung-Min, scored directly from the corner with Bayindir in goal. Wolves' Matheus Cunha then repeated the feat in their 2-0 win over United.
Our Turkish 'keeper will have to be a lot more decisive and commanding in the box. He can be a little flat-footed which helps us no end.
Something has to change from defending crosses and if we can remove this threat from Arsenal's game, then we do give ourselves a good chance as they have been struggling for goals lately. In their last four in all competitions, other than their 3-1 win at Brentford, the Gunners have failed to score more than 1 goal in their other three matches.
They lost their last game 2-0 at home to Newcastle (we know what's that like 😐) in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal.
Even in this fixture in the league, Arsenal didn't create too many chances from open play that caused us problems.
We have a chance should we defend as we did against Liverpool who also didn't have that many clear-cut opportunities.
Arsenal
Arteta's first and only trophy as Arsenal manager was the FA Cup in his first campaign back in 2020. This competition is a happy one for him and Arsenal as they are the side to have won the trophy more times than anyone else (14) which is one more than United.
Since the sides last faced each other at the beginning of December, Arsenal have played nine games winning five of them, drawing three and losing one which was their last to Newcastle.
Arsenal do have their injury concerns as star man Bukayo Saka is out until March while impressive youngster Ethan Nwaneri will also be missing this match.
The Gunners don't look the same without their main player Saka as a massive part of their attacking prowess and overall game is taken away in his absence. His influence on the team is paramount and gives United a bit more of a chance to progress in this one.
Arteta will be concerned up front because both Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz don't seem to be the quality required for them to be main strikers at Arsenal, a similar issue to what Amorim has at United.
Recent Meetings
The league meetings have been dominated by the Gunners in the last few years as in the previous 12 matches, Arsenal have won eight with two draws and two United wins.
One-sided indeed.
But the last time the pair faced off in this competition, it was United who came out on top as Jose Mourinho's MUFC beat Unai Emery's Arsenal 3-1 with Alexis Sanchez scoring for United against his former club.
Prediction
After a confidence-boosting performance and result at Anfield and Arsenal a little low on confidence at the moment, I see no reason as to why we can't go there and win.
I'm going for a 2-1 United victory to kick-start our FA Cup title defence.
Should we play in the same manner as last Sunday, we give ourselves a great chance of getting into the next round.
What do you think will happen on Sunday?
Fun fact: United's men's and women's teams will have a special ball in all their matches as holders of the competition.
Arteta will probably have something to say about that should his team lose this game.
Background Image (player): Manuel Ugarte | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)