Key events
20 mins: Any world in which that is onside is a horrible, unjust, miserable world.
18 mins: Arsenal have a goal disallowed! Martinelli is miles offside when the ball is played through to him, but it deflects off Maguire and Arsenal have a go at arguing that made it a new phase but the officials are having none of it and VAR is having the weekend off.
17 mins: Timber plays the ball through to Havertz, who seems to have spent most of the match in an offside position, and is there again here.
14 mins: Another Arsenal free-kick, again on the left flank but from a deeper position this time. No offside trap on this occasion, but Gabriel’s header sails wide.
11 mins: Garnacho goes for a sliding tackle on Gabriel, so poorly timed that by the time Gabriel gets anywhere near him he’s basically stopped moving. It doesn’t stop Gabriel, sniffing a yellow card, screaming loudly at what little contact there was before rolling around for a while. Andy Madley absolutely rightly gives just a free kick, and Gabriel instantly hops up again.
11 mins: For the second time already, Bayandir boots a goal kick into touch.
10 mins: Arsenal win a free-kick, from which United catch almost their entire team offside. “How are Arsenal allowed to play in shirts with no readable numbers on their backs?” demands Louise. Their shirts are spectactularly unhelpful, it must be said. They do have numbers on their backs, but only their outlines and on my screen at least they are only visible in close-up.
8 mins: Arsenal are absolutely hogging possession, but United seem to know what they’re doing in defence, starting with putting loads of people in it.
5 mins: A lovely pass from Odegaard to Jesus, running beyond the defence on the right, but the Brazilian’s cross isn’t great, and Bayindir gets an easy, early touch.
3 mins: Much of the first few minutes have been spent with Arsenal trying and failing to navigate a way through a strong United press.
2 mins: Arsenal are in the all-white kit they have worn for their last few third-round fixtures, part of their “no more red” campaign. “No More Red was launched in January 2022 to support our long-standing work to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence,” the club say. “The white shirts will never be sold commercially, and instead are awarded to volunteers who give their time and skills to our charitable partners.”
1 min: Peeeeeeep! United have kicked off!
This game is about to begin, under slate-grey London skies. United will kick off.
A shock! Doncaster Rovers, seventh in League Two, have knocked out Championship struggler Hull on penalties, away from home, after a 1-1 draw.
Spurs take a 2-0 lead, as at the Emirates Stadium the players gather in the tunnel.
Pre-match reading: Ed Aarons wrote a thing about Arsenal’s approach to this season’s FA Cup:
“Gentlemen whose sole ability to build up a good side depends on the payment of heavy and exhorbitant [sic] transfer fees need not apply.”
This summer marks the 100th anniversary of the legendary Herbert Chapman’s appointment by Arsenal after the chairman, Sir Henry Norris, posted an advertisement in the Athletic News as they searched for a new manager. Times may have changed but the message must sound very familiar to Mikel Arteta.
Much more here:
“Can we put the kick off of this back half an hour to watch the spurs penalties?” asks Ian Sargeant on email. Sadly/happily/whatever Tottenham are now beating Tamworth 1-0, courtesy of an extra-time own-goal. Fifteen minutes to go there, John Brewin still typing furiously:
Both teams will have half an eye on a midweek round of Premier League fixtures, and Arsenal on Wednesday’s derby against Tottenham, the third of five successive home games in all competitions. United have an extra day to prepare for the visit of Southampton.
Mikel Arteta says Riccardo Califouri “had a light problem yesterday in training”, hence his absence this afternoon. “We thought about the best possible line-up, and we wanted to try and be better than Manchester United. We have a lot of games, and it is going to be an interesting week. Bearing this in mind, we believe this is the best squad to start.”
John Brewin is watching the ongoing Tamworth v Tottenham tie, now with just a couple of minutes, some stoppage time and potentially extra time to play, and still 0-0!
Ruben Amorim says Amad has been rested after suffering “a small issue during the week”, making this “a good opportunity to see Garnacho start”.
The teams!
Team news is in. United play Altay Bayindir in goal as advertised, and Alejandro Garnacho comes in for Amad Diallo. Arsenal make three changes, with Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Jorginho coming in and Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice and Thomas Partey stepping out.
Arsenal: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard, Jesus, Martinelli, Havertz. Subs: Neto, Tierney, Partey, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Trossard, Sterling, Butler-Oyedeji, Rice.
Manchester United: Bayindir, De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez, Mazroui, Mainoo, Ugarte, Dalot, Fernandes, Garnacho, Hojlund. Subs: Onana, Zirkzee, Malacia, Eriksen, Yoro, Amad, Casemiro, Antony, Collyer.
Referee: Andrew Madley.
Hello world!
This year’s third round has been a strange one. No replays. So few big sides away at smaller ones. Just nine games to play and the greatest upset has involved Brentford losing to a team one division below them. No2 on that list is, what, Cardiff beating Sunderland in a half-empty ground? A free draw is one of the greatest features of this great competition, but sometimes it produces a right bunch of duffers.
So a game between two genuine giants, albeit giants who played each other last month and will play each other again in early March, feels like the king pole in a circus tent, holding the whole thing up. Let’s hope it’s a good one, then.
Last week Manchester United, 20 times league champions, played (and, as you may remember, dramatically drew with) the team at No2 in the all-time-title list, Liverpool with 19. This week United, 13 times FA Cup champions, play the team at No1 in this all-time-title list, Arsenal with 14. They do so wanting to top up their players’ dwindling reserves of winningfeeling. “The feeling of winning, that feeling gives you so much confidence. If you win one thing you will believe you can win more,” Ruben Amorim said on Friday. “That feeling is addictive; you feel it and it’s really easy to follow that to try to win it again. I think it is important for the confidence of the players.”
Arsenal haven’t experienced winningfeeling since 2020, the last time they lifted this or indeed any trophy, and the only member of the current squad who played that day is Kieran Tierney. “I don’t expect to get credit [for that win],” Mikel Arteta said this week. “I expect to get judged on what we do on the day. And what has happened in the past, in the future, it is not relevant.”
That makes today (and, sure, every other day) judgement day. The gavel is ready to fall. Let’s have at it.