Arsenal welcome a United side to the Emirates, who drew 2-2 with league leaders Liverpool in their last match, which was a positive result for Ruben Amorim’s side, who have won just one in their last six matches. The last time that Arsenal and United met was at the beginning of December, when the Gunners won 2-0 at home. Arteta will be hoping for more of the same this weekend.
FA makes referee appointments ahead of United’s visit to Arsenal
The FA has appointed Andy Madley as the referee for Sunday’s game. He has been in charge of a total of 13 games so far this season, showing 52 yellow cards and one red. He was last seen refereeing during Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United at the start of the month, when he handed out five yellow cards.
Controversially, during the game, Newcastle’s equaliser was allowed to stand by VAR, despite it hitting the hand of Joelinton in the build-up. His arm was said to be in a ‘natural position’, but Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou claimed after the game that it was the angriest he’s ever been in his career following the decision. Madley’s assistant referees will be Nick Hopton and Craig Taylor, who were both assistants for the Spurs and Newcastle game under Madley. They were both last seen by Arsenal during the Gunners’ 3-2 win against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-final last month.
Michael Salisbury has been appointed as the fourth official. He has been the referee in 10 games so far this season, including five Premier League games. Salisbury has shown 37 yellow cards and two reds in those 10. He was last seen as a fourth official during Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 win against Wolves in the Premier League on Monday.
What has been said ahead of the game
Arteta said about the importance of the FA Cup: “It’s a massive part of our history, we’ve won it 14 times and it is a competition very attached to us. It’s a beautiful game to play against a massive club, and a very special occasion as well with the amount supporters that they're going to bring, so it’s a very big game. The memory of winning something and celebrating and sharing it with your people is the ultimate goal. I will never forget the process and the people that you meet, but overall I have great memories about the competition.”
United boss Ruben Amorim said: "I see what everybody sees: a really old competition with a lot of history. I remember some finals, I think when we won the Treble against Newcastle, Sir Alex Ferguson saved some players, it was really important for the club. We won some cups, we want to continue. We know that, at this stage, we already have a really strong match but we want to win and also we want to continue to improve the team and the performance."
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