Alan Shearer's FA Cup Predictions: Man Utd to knock out Arsenal | OneFootball

Alan Shearer

Get Alan Shearer's prediction for Arsenal v Man Utd in the FA Cup

There is no question where the standout fixture of the FA Cup third round takes place this weekend as Alan Shearer previews Arsenal v Manchester United and makes his prediction for the Sunday afternoon clash at the Emirates...

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Game of the weekend

Arsenal v Manchester United - Sunday 15:00

It's FA Cup third round weekend, and there are some brilliant ties for teams at the top and bottom of the league pyramid.

The FA Cup should absolutely be a priority for teams, because a team like Man City, who aren't going to win the league are going to have to try and get something this season. It is also unlikely that Arsenal are going to win the league and they're in a really sticky position in the Carabao Cup after losing their semi-final first lef to Newcastle.

On Sunday, Arsenal have a really tricky FA Cup tie against holders Manchester United at home which they now need to win. This weekend really encapsulates everything that is great about the FA Cup, with two huge football clubs like Arsenal and United playing each other in the third round.

On the flip-side, you've also got non-league clubs like Bromley coming to Newcastle, Accrington Stanley going to Liverpool and Salford at Man City. This weekend embraces everything that's great about the FA Cup. It's a great opportunity for teams that dream of silverware too.

Winning FA Cup is better than finishing top four

I understand that league status is more important for a lot of clubs. I also know that if that's not going too well for you, then it's an opportunity to get some small shoots of confidence; so if you can win a cup game it gets that little bit of confidence building.I

f you said to me that Newcastle could finish in mid-table and win the FA Cup, then give me the cup over qualifying for the Champions League any day of the week. You don't treasure memories of qualifying for the Champions League rather than winning a trophy. It has been so long for Newcastle anyway, so give me a trophy any day of the week over finishing anywhere in the league, other than top.

Arsenal v Man Utd is going to be cracking Cup tie

Arsenal v Man United is the standout tie of the weekend. United's draw at Anfield does feel like a turning point. You heard Ruben Amorim saying he hadn't had too many days he could get out on the pitch and train. Well, he's had a full week now on the back of a really, really good performance at the league leaders Liverpool in such a huge game.

The United players have set their standard and can't fall below that now. They have to go out and put that performance in again. It's a really good time for them to come and face Arsenal, for whom the last two results have been, by their own high standards, poor.

Arsenal have to try and bounce back. I don't know what kind of team they'll put out and it'll be interesting to see who starts, with so much riding on this game for the Gunners now. They're up against it in the Carabao Cup, as well as the league and are going okay in the Champions League. They need to win something this season and maybe the FA Cup is going to be their best opportunity.

United team put in their best performance of the season last time out and I think this is going to be a cracking game. I expect United to put out a similar team to the one that faced Liverpool. United were much more resilient and had much more energy about them at Anfield. They looked to understand what the manager was asking them to do in terms of his system, probably for the first time under Amorim. That would have given him real confidence that they might have just turned a corner.

United still need to bring new players in this January. Whether they can get the amount that they want remains to be seen. However, the performance at Anfield can be used as a springboard for better things. That's the level that they have to reach every week now, it can't happen one week and then not the next, so we'll have to wait and see what version of United turns up on Sunday.

Arsenal v Man Utd - the key battles

I would think that there will be one or two changes in the Arsenal team. In terms of the full-backs, especially with Diogo Dalot having given Trent Alexander-Arnold a torrid time last week, it will be interesting to see if the Portguguese can be as impressive down that left-hand-side up against Asenal's Ben White.

Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund need confidence and protection, they're still young players. It's tough moving clubs regardless of the context, because it's such an upheaval, but it's even tougher for those boys with the situation that United are in.

You want to go to a football club that is finely tuned and ready to challenge for titles. Hojlund and Zirkzee have come into a club which is struggling and an environment where everyone is being criticised. The number of managers who have been through Old Trafford in recent years tells you that. With all of the off-field problems taken into account as well, that makes it even more difficult for anyone going into that football club, let alone for the youngsters.

United need to be patient with Hojlund and Zirkzee

What happened for Zirkzee, when he was brought off against Newcastle, won't help his confidence either. There's lots of talk about him going out on loan or being sold to another club, but we'll have to wait and see. As for Hojlund, there's definitely a player in there, but people are going to have to be patient with him.

There's no doubt that United need another centre-forward, so he can be drip-fed in and out while learning how it should be done. In the main, he's done as well as he possibly could in really trying and testing circumstances.

When you're in the early years of your football career, it is all about having belief and confidence. You need opportunities and you need to be protected and looked after at the right times. I'm not sure that has been the case with Hojlund because he's been asked to do so much by United, being put on the front line too much. They haven't had any other options though and he's had to face that as well, having no competition, which is hard.

When I started out in the first team at Southampton, I scored a hat-trick and then didn't score again for seven or eight games, then got left out. As a young player, you want to play every game, because you need to gain experience, but Hojlund not been able to do that.

Alan's Arsenal v Man Utd prediction - Away win

If United turn up with the same attitude and level of performance they took to Anfield, I can see them going through to the next round.

I just think that Arsenal are struggling in front of goal, and haven't scored as many as they want. They missed one or two against Newcastle and I can see United going in there, and if they put in another good performance then I wouldn't be at all surprised if they won.