RC8
Established Member
So, we meet our old foes once again.
This time it's in the FA Cup, where both teams have performed well so far, tearing apart decent opponents like Newcastle and Aston Villa.
First off I'd like to give everyone some good news, courtesy of Arsenal.com...
Arsenal.com said:Ivorian duo in contention for Old Trafford tie
By Chris Harris
Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are in contention for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Manchester United.
The Ivorian duo returned from the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday and are due to report for training today. Neither Toure or Eboue played in their country's final game in Ghana, the third and fourth place play-off against the hosts on Saturday, but they could feature at Old Trafford.
Arsène Wenger admitted before the Blackburn game that he was down to the "bare bones" thanks to injuries and international commitments. Manuel Almunia, Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, Robin van Persie, Denilson and Johan Djourou were all sidelined for Arsenal’s 2-0 victory but Rosicky could return at the weekend.
"Kolo and Eboue came back today [Monday] so we hope to see them tomorrow to see if they're not injured," said Wenger at his post-match press conference.
"Rosicky, he looks better. Van Persie looks better, but he is still a few weeks away. But Rosicky maybe has a little chance for Saturday."
Definitely looks good, but I don't think Kolo or Eboue will be risked if they are injured.
Here's the record of the last games that both teams have played in all competitions:
They will be specially fired up for the occasion, as they just disappointed their home crowd greatly. The club will try to address it by beating Arsenal and saying that this was the real celebration for the busby babes or some other nonsense like that. And it's up to us to ruin their celebrations.
Some of you may remember the last time we faced United in the FA Cup. But this game is much more reminiscent of that game in 04 when we had to play them before taking on Chelsea in the CL quarter finals. Wenger got his balancing act wrong that time, and we crashed out of both competitions, even though we were by far the best team left in both. This seems like a god-given second chance that Arsène has got to redeem himself, and let's hope he gets it right.
It really is impossible to predict a team for this game, but assuming we don't get any of our injuries back, then we might see the first team, with Adebayor and Fabregas being subbed out later on in the game. And Kolo getting subbed in to get some match practice.
But the more I think about it, the more I think we'll come out with something like this: