Manchester United will have to keep Martin Odegaard quiet as they kickstart their FA Cup defence.
The current FA Cup holders take on the side who have won the competition the most times when Manchester United face Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
United will use a special match ball against the Gunners to reflect their status as champions, and Ruben Amorim will be hoping for a different result than his first match against the Londoners.
Arsenal beat United 2-0 in December in what was Amorim’s first defeat as United boss. Amorim is expected to make changes at The Emirates with Altay Bayindir confirmed to be starting in goal.
He will hope that the result will be the same as the last time United faced Arsenal in the FA Cup back in 2019
What Martin Odegaard said about Man United
Last time against the Gunners, United went toe-to-toe in open play but were undone by Arsenal’s set-pieces.
Odegaard captained Arsenal in that match before being replaced late on. The Norwegian is expected to feature again on Sunday.
Before kick-off, Odegaard delivered his pre-match notes and he reserved a few lines to give his thoughts on Manchester United
As per Arsenal’s official website, Odegaard said: “We have played Manchester United recently of course and we got the right result, but I have watched them since and they got a good result away to Liverpool last weekend.
“As I’ve said before, they have a lot of quality in their squad, and you can’t only look at the table when you talk about Manchester United.
“Especially as this is a cup game, so the league positions don’t matter – it’s about the level we can both be at on the day.”
Odegaard is clearly wary of United’s threat after watching the dramatic 2-2 draw against Liverpool where Amorim was frustrated at the result after such a strong performance.
How Man United can beat Arsenal in FA Cup
United appear to be growing into Amorim’s 3-4-3 system with more and more training sessions under the Portuguese.
The Red Devils had the advantage of a longer break between matches with Arsenal losing to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. For the first time since joining, Amorim has had a full week to prepare.
After conceding twice from corners in the last meeting, Amorim urged United to improve at set pieces. The progress made at Carrington will be put to the test on Sunday with Arsenal leading the way this season in terms of goals from set pieces.
In open play, United proved they can compete with the very best by controlling large portions of the match against Liverpool. Arsenal will have home advantage, but a fresh United squad will have plenty of energy to challenge the hosts.
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