Arsenal vs Man Utd "Enemies on a narrow road"

While the big teams in the Premier League have to face easy and easy opponents, or are playing in lower divisions like the 2017-2018 defending champion Chelsea against Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham visiting Crystal Palace, Man City hosting BurnLey, Millwall meeting Everton... the draw of luck brings two forces of English football, Arsenal and Man Utd, together in the 4th round, and one of the two teams has to stop playing when the 4th round ends.

Currently, both the "Gunners" and the "Red Devils" are showing their rise in the Premier League and FA Cup. Last week, Arsenal defeated Chelsea in round 23 of the Premier League with a score of 2-0, thereby narrowing the gap to 3 points, and Man City was not to be outdone when they won 2-1 in the home match against Brighton.

At this point, on the English football rankings as of the 23rd round, both Arsenal and Man City have the same number of points, 44. The "Gunners" of London are ranked higher thanks to the additional index of scoring 2 more goals. Both are trying to squeeze into the top 4 while the 4th ranked team is Chelsea with 47 points - also the victim of Arsenal in the previous round.

Man Utd revived under coach Ole Solskjaer. Photo: Zing.vn

With coach Unai Emery and his Arsenal players showing stability in recent times, the proof is that they defeated Chelsea in round 23 with a style of play that is true to the nature of the "Gunners": fast, neat, and precise.

Certainly, with the victory considered a turning point for the top 4, it is a strong morale booster for the "Gunners" when they enter the match to break the 7-match unbeaten streak of the "Red Devils". Playing at home at Emirates Stadium is a great advantage, so Unai Emery and his team are aiming for a victory and further, a title for Coach Emery in the foggy country.

Can coach Solskjaer and his students beat Arsenal in the 4th round of the FA Cup? Photo: Zing.vn

For Man Utd, after firing coach Jose Mourinho and appointing interim coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, everything has changed. From a team with weak and inconsistent playing style, Man Utd has returned to its former self with 7 consecutive wins on all fronts, including 5 matches in the Premier League, and 2 matches in the FA Cup.

The Norwegian coach has breathed new life and enthusiasm into Man Utd, and importantly, he has "untied" Paul Pogba, Rafford, Matial, Matic... from the somewhat "rigid" and "classical" football philosophy of coach Jose Mourinho, so they can be themselves, show their skills, qualities, and creativity in a freer, more liberal space.

The above factors have helped the "Red Devils" have sublime and emotional matches and made Man Utd fans think of a Man Utd in its golden age under the hands of legendary captain Sir Alex Ferguson.

However, to be fair, in Man Utd's 7 consecutive victories under coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, only the win over Tottenham in round 22 was against an equal opponent, the rest were opponents that were not highly rated, and the match against Arsenal in round 4 of the FA Cup was truly a high-dose test to verify the leadership of Norwegian strategist Coach Solskjaer.

Lacazette or Paul Pogba, who will shine? Photo: Zing.vn

The match between Arsenal and Man Utd deserves to be called the English Derby when these are two forces of English football in the past as well as the present, moreover, the two teams are holding the FA Cup record with Arsenal 13 times and Man Utd 12 times, also the battle of wits between an experienced veteran coach Unai Emery and on the other side is a young and resourceful coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This will be a match of equal strength, equal talent, promising to be exciting and dramatic until the last minutes.

The match takes place at 02:55 on January 26, 2019.