Manchester United defense of FA Cup starts on Sunday afternoon with one of the toughest games they could have asked for, away to Arsenal.
The Emirates Stadium hosts two of the most successful clubs in FA Cup history. United will be looking to right some wrongs against the Gunners, who recently beat them in the Premier League.
United’s impressive triumph in the 2023/24 edition of the FA Cup. he was a positive note in a bad season. They beat local rivals Manchester City 2-0 at Wembley, thanks to goals from Alejandro Garnach and Kobbie Mainoo.
On the eve of defending his crown, United team news as the trip to north London was announced in the days leading up to the game.
United vs Arsenal squad news
Great care for Reuben Amorim and United is the fact that star Amad Diallo could miss the game after picking up a small knock. Attacker, who just signed a new contract at Old Trafford, he is not guaranteed to be fit, but Amorim explained that he hopes the White-haired man will be available.
There are several confirmed absentees for United at the weekend. Two of them are defenders Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans, and Amorim confirms that a pair of centre-backs still won’t be ready in time.
England team-mates Luke Shaw and Mason Mount are also expected to miss the Emirates Stadium clash. Both have been sidelined for several weeks, with Shaw making his last appearance against Everton on December 1 and Mount making his last appearance away to Man City in the same month.
As for Marcus Rashford, who missed last weekend’s draw against Liverpool at Anfield due to illness, his future remains up in the airwith the fact that the Englishman is not included for the trip to the Emirates.
With Rashford outside the squad again, leaves Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee as candidates to lead the line. The Dutchman could be a good option.
Why Zirkzee could start against Arsenal
Life at Old Trafford so far has not been easy for Zirkzee. He showed brilliance at times and never stopped working hard, but the fans didn’t treat him well.
He was booed against Newcastle United in the Premier League at a bad time by fans in the stands at Old Trafford.
That said, he has put in some really good performances in that famous Red jersey so far. He has four goals and two assists in 28 gameswith his best performance against Everton in a 4-0 win. On the day, the 23-year-old managed to score twice in a fantastic performance.
Zirkzee, who won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in 2020, won the best young player award in Serie A last season for Bologna.
His statistics on Sofascore show how well he played, and the striker scored and assisted 15 times, created 11 big chances and won 4.1 duels per game. There is a reason described by football statistician Statman Dave as a “serious talent”.
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Zirkzee statistics in Serie A 2023/24 |
|
|---|---|
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Stat |
Number |
|
Goals and assists |
15 |
|
Expected goals |
9.01 |
|
Conversion rate |
13% |
|
Great chances were created |
11 |
|
Key passes per match |
1.3 |
|
Completed dribbles per game |
.51 |
|
Duels won per match |
4.1 |
|
Statistics from Sofascore |
|
Interestingly, Arsenal were keen to sign the striker last summer before United snapped him up. According to Sky Sportsthey were believed to be ‘monitoring developments closely’, but he ended up at Old Trafford.
This afternoon, if he starts, Zirkzee could hurt Arsenal. He is an intelligent forward, who excels at dropping deep to connect play and create space for teammates.
He is not one to get into a physical battle with William Salib and Gabriel, which works to United’s advantage as he can bring his teammates into the game if he gets them out of position.
While United fans may have yet to see the best of Zirkzee, he has shown exactly what he can do time after time. A trip to the Emirates Stadium to defend their FA Cup trophy is a great place to put in another performance like he did against Everton and hurt the club that wanted to sign him last summer.
