FA Cup Notebook Heading into the Quarter-Finals

Manchester United host Arsenal in the FA Cup on Monday knowing it is such games—the big ones against their rivals—that will now define the success, or otherwise, of their season.

Much has been made of United's difficulties this campaign—how they have struggled to find performances of a consistently high quality despite a huge financial outlay over the last 18 months. That includes in the dugout, where Louis van Gaal's arrival to replace the departed David Moyes—a transition that cost a lot to facilitate—has not produced the dramatically improved fortunes many anticipated.

Nevertheless, United shift into the final third of the season fourth in the Premier League table (just a point off third) and in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup.

Finish fourth and win the FA Cup, and Van Gaal's first season in charge will have been a success regardless of the tortuous path it took to get to that point. Lose in the quarter-finals and drop out of the top four, however, and suddenly the Dutchman's appointment looks like another misstep in a catalogue of them since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.

With that in mind, Monday's game against Arsenal is perhaps exactly what United need. Van Gaal's side have shown a remarkable knack for winning without playing well this season, knocking off plenty of smaller teams (and some bigger ones too) while playing turgid, reactive football. A case in point came on Wednesday, when only a late mistake gifted United a 1-0 win at Newcastle United.

The end of the league campaign is littered with tests for the Red Devils—they still have to face Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal before the rat race, as Van Gaal calls it, is over. If their campaign to this point has been built on pragmatism and efficiency against the smaller sides, then it will be defined by how they fare against the big teams during the run-in.

Hosting Arsenal, therefore, is not just about getting to the semi-finals of the FA Cup—it is a taste of the sort of matches they will have to thrive in over the weeks and months to come.

As Van Gaal said, per MUTV (h/t United's official website):

"

It’s a game between two teams of 11 players. United and Arsenal are placed third and fourth in the league, so it’s almost like a final, I think.

We have the support of our fans but Arsenal shall bring a lot of fans too. Also, Arsenal and United are now in third and fourth place, so it is a big event with two good teams. I hope we can give a fantastic match for the fans.

I think if we beat them it is a big blow for them, but if they beat us it is a big blow for us. It is very important game, not only for the FA Cup but also for the rat race.

"

Arsenal have not exactly had the best of times at Old Trafford in recent memory and were comfortably beaten at the Emirates earlier in the season, as they became another side to discover that Van Gaal's team have a remarkable ability to win without playing brilliantly (and a remarkable goalkeeper to keep them in games).

"

And here comes Wenger for his pre Man United presser... #mufc #afc Gabriel confirmed out for 3 weeks. Otherwise same squad.

— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) March 6, 2015"

If United have failed to convince this season, then the knock against Arsenal has always been their mental fortitude in big games such as this (beating Manchester City has only slightly assuaged those doubts). The Gunners are perhaps fortuitous that their run-in is noticeably kinder than all their rivals' (making them strong favourites to finish third in the league), but these are the sort of games that can determine a side's capabilities for seasons to come.

With a return leg against Monaco to come in the Champions League, a victory at Old Trafford would surely count as ideal preparation.

"We are confident," Wenger said on Friday, per the Daily Mirror. "We go to Manchester United to qualify and give absolutely everything with hard work and team effort.

"I don't believe too much in history. At the moment we are doing very well away from home so it's down to our effort."

Stu Forster/Getty Images

---

FA Cup Quarter-Final Fixtures

All times GMT

Saturday

Bradford City vs. Reading (12:45 p.m.)
Aston Villa vs. West Bromwich Albion (5:30 p.m.)

Also in the Premier League: Queens Park Rangers vs. Tottenham (3 p.m.)

Sunday

Liverpool vs. Blackburn Rovers (4 p.m.)

Monday

Manchester United vs. Arsenal (7:45 p.m.)

---

Michael Steele/Getty Images

1. What to Watch out for This Week

Liverpool Must Put Rovers to the Sword

Liverpool are current favourites to win the FA Cup, albeit perhaps only because Arsenal and Manchester United face each other (the winner of that tie is likely to become the favourite ahead of the semi-finals). Nevertheless, the Reds clearly have a fantastic opportunity to pick up their first trophy since 2012—and their first FA Cup since 2006.

It would be a perfect send-off for the departing Steven Gerrard but also a first trophy for manager Brendan Rodgers, an important, tangible reward for what has been a tenure of obvious progress. Liverpool are not a club of "progress," however, they are a club of victories and success and titles and glory. The FA Cup is not the pinnacle of the modern game, but it would nevertheless be an important moment for a young squad that clearly has great potential to grow.

With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how Liverpool deal with Blackburn at Anfield on Sunday. They were poor in the fourth round against similar opponents in Bolton Wanderers, needing a replay to finally scrape through. The benefit of the FA Cup is that it does not fatigue squads like European competition, but Rodgers will nevertheless want his side to avoid unnecessary fixtures as he also plots a top-four finish.

Expect Giggs and Van Gaal to Put on United Front

One thing we can expect to see at Old Trafford on Monday? Van Gaal and assistant manager Ryan Giggs putting on a show of unity in response to reports that the legendary former winger does not get on with the notoriously dictatorial Dutchman.

"I am very irritated at this question because everyone can see we have a very good relationship," Van Gaal said, per Sky Sports. “We work very hard together. Not only with Ryan but with all the staff and the players. It is a way of suggesting things. I am very irritated. I take my measures against the media. I am not pleased."

Not pleased he may be, but there has been little indication that the duo share much of an understanding or mutually beneficial relationship. Thrown together somewhat by the powers that be at Old Trafford, it would be no surprise to see Giggs transition into a different role—or leave the club entirely—at the end of the season.

2. Video of the Week

3. Player to Watch

Jon Stead (Bradford)

Experienced forward Jon Stead has been one of the driving forces of Bradford's cup run to this point, scoring in every single round thus far. He started off by finding the net against Halifax Town, before more recently burning Chelsea and former club Sunderland as the Bantams reached the quarter-finals.

Now the pressure is really on, however, as Phil Parkinson's side host Reading with a game at Wembley on the line. The Royals might be a league above Bradford, but this might still be a game in which the hosts are favourites, such has been their remarkable giant-killing run.

Nevertheless, many times in the past we have seen lower-league sides succumb to inferior (or less superior) opposition a round or two after knocking out a giant, and Bradford will have to make sure not to let their intensity levels drop because they are now only facing a Championship side.

Stead will be looking to continue his own personal streak, which might prove vital to deciding whether Bradford make it to Wembley—a reward they surely deserve when considering the teams they have beaten to reach this point.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

4. Game of the Weekend

Aston Villa vs. West Brom

For one week only (this season at least), supporters around the country are jealous of Aston Villa fans.

Villa sit just one victory from a Wembley semi-final—which has a better than one-third chance of being against a lower-division side—and the chance to take something tangible from what has been an increasingly trying season.

At least the midweek win over West Brom hugely improved the Premier League survival chances of Tim Sherwood's side, in the process perhaps giving them a slight psychological advantage going into this meeting.

But league survival remains very much the focus, something that perhaps hands the advantage to West Brom (who are surely only a couple of points away from securing their own survival and can therefore give greater focus to their cup pursuits).

Tony Pulis looks well on course to complete another impressive survival job, establishing himself further as the manager for great escapes—a quality that will surely be very lucrative for him for many seasons to come. But adding a domestic trophy to his CV would greatly enhance his reputation, and this season would seem about as good a chance as these two Premier League sides are ever going to have.

Then, of course, there is the local nature of the contest—the rivalry that was surely only aggravated by Sherwood's comments before the league meeting that the Baggies are a "good little club," per Goal. It was some classic condescension from a manager who has done nothing to earn the right to such digs. After missing the chance to do so first time around, West Brom might be especially determined to punish him on Saturday.

They will have to up their game against a Villa in high spirits, however.

"Now the cup is the most important one as it's the next one and we want to get to Wembley. West Brom will have to improve to stop us getting there," Sherwood said after Tuesday's game, per Sky Sports.

"I'm confident I'm telling them the right things to do but there is nothing like a win to cement things. Everyone can see we're improving and the result is massive for us."