The FA Cup Sixth Round: Manchester United vs Arsenal, Old Trafford, 9th March 2015, Kick Off 19:45 Local time:
Manchester United – De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Rojo, Shaw, Blind, Herrera, Di Maria, Fellaini, Young, Rooney
Subs – Valdes, Rafael, Jones, Carrick, Januzaj, Mata, Falcao
Arsenal – Szczesny, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Alexis, Welbeck
Subs – Martinez, Gibbs, Chambers, Ramsey, Giroud, Walcott, Akpom
In a season which promised so much, but has so far left many even more confused about the status quo, Manchester United fans have a genuinely big game to savour this evening.
Had Arsenal been drawn as the home side, Manchester United fans may have feared the worst but, even during times of transition, the Old Trafford faithful will feel that this team can rouse themselves for a big performance tonight. Players like Di Maria and Rooney need to show once more why their names have frequented the same sentences as terms like ‘world-class’ and ‘sublime’ for the last 5 years or more.
As for Arsenal, their plight may be even more frustrating than that of Manchester United. They look sensational against the smaller sides but keep being handed lessons by the bigger beasts – lessons which, some would say, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is not learning from.
We do expect Arsenal to finish top four again but this night may well belong to Manchester United, who should show enough desire to bully their way into the semis.
