Mikel Arteta has given his reaction to the FA Cup third round draw, with Arsenal to face Wednesday’s Premier League opponents Manchester United in the competition.
Arsenal drew Manchester United in Monday night’s FA Cup third-round draw, with the Premier League sides all entering the competition at this stage.
Coincidentally, Mikel Arteta was in a press conference on Tuesday for a game between the same two sides, with Arsenal due to face Manchester United in a Premier League clash the following evening.
“That’s the thing about draws, you can get anybody,” Arteta said.
“We play at home, it’s going to be a big match again and it’s a little bit of the story of the last few seasons that in the third or fourth round we are playing big opponents but we want to do what we have done historically at this club and in the end, you have to beat the big teams to win it.
“It is what it is. We are excited.”
It’s true that Arsenal haven’t had much luck in the FA Cup draws in recent seasons. Since the 2023 third-round win over Oxford United, the Gunners have faced Manchester City, Liverpool, and now Manchester United.
But Arteta is right that you usually have to beat the big teams to win the competition. The only time a club from outside the big six won the cup in the last decade was Leicester City in 2021, and they beat Chelsea in the final.
There hasn’t been a final without a big-six club since 2007/08, when Portsmouth beat Cardiff City. Arsenal’s last final was a win over Chelsea, having beaten Manchester City in the semi-final. That’s what it’s taken to win it in most recent seasons.
The fixture being at home is also good news, with the only downside being the timing of the game.
Scheduled for the weekend of Saturday, January 11th, the match is just days before the north London derby on January 15th.
The calendar could get even more congested if Arsenal win their League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace, earning them a semi-final first leg on January 8th.
The six teams Arsenal could potentially face in that semi-final match are Spurs, United, Newcastle, Brentford, Southampton, and Liverpool. All Premier League opponents.
