Arsenal v Man Utd team news

[Mac 10 †]

Arsenal v Man Utd team news 
 
Manchester United defender Gary Neville looks set to recover from the groin injury that threatened to rule him out of the FA Cup final.
Neville had been virtually ruled out earlier in the week but trained on Friday and is now expected to start.

Arsenal have already revealed that Thierry Henry will miss the clash in Cardiff with an Achilles tendon injury.

Jose Reyes could lead the line in the Frenchman's absence while midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has been passed fit.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Almunia, Lauren, Cole, Campbell, Senderos, Toure, Cygan, Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Edu, Fabregas, Flamini, Pires, Ljungberg, Reyes, Van Persie, Bergkamp, Aliadiere.

Manchester United (from): Carroll, Howard, G Neville, P Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea, Fletcher, Fortune, Ronaldo, Kleberson, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Miller, Van Nistelrooy, Smith, Rooney, Saha.



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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
"Sir Alex can prepare his team to face us with Henry but I can assure everyone he is not going to play.

"I have decided to start with Jose Antonio Reyes but I don't know where yet. I think he is much stronger now physically than at the beginning of the season.

"We don't have Thierry, but Jose is a striker who can be inspirational for us going forward. He is an important asset in our team."

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
"We're preparing for Henry to play but, if I'm wrong, I'll hold my hands up and say 'don't be so distrustful in future, Alex'.

"We will plan right to the very last minute and we think he will be in their team.

"Our preparation has been centred around what Arsenal's team is likely to be and what it can be."



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KEY MATCH STATS


ARSENAL and Manchester United meet in the fifth and last FA Cup Final to be staged at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium before the return to a rebuilt Wembley. The pair are simply the most successful clubs ever in the oldest football competition in the world, yet they were both also-rans in this season's race for the Premiership title, and are vying for their only piece of silverware from the 2004/05 campaign.

The Gunners have won the Cup nine times, and are playing in a record 17th final. They've missed only one of the five finals to be played in Cardiff and are hoping to lift the trophy for the third time in four seasons. They've also lost only one of their last 25 games played in the competition (24 rounds). The only time they've been knocked out in advance of the final since the year 2000 was last season's 1-0 semi-final loss to Manchester United at Villa Park, when Paul Scholes scored the winner on 3 April 2004.

Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have completed the 'double' twice, won the FA Cup three times and the Premier League three times. The Londoners have lost only five of 53 bone fide FA Cup matches (44 Rounds) under the current manager and Wenger has guided them to the final for the fifth time in his nine years in charge at Highbury. The opposing managers are now tied at 11 wins a piece in the head to head, if you count the 2003 FA Community Shield (decided on penalties) as a United win.

This will be their fifth meeting this season. Arsenal won the Community Shield but then lost a highly significant League clash at Old Trafford. The 2-0 defeat on 24 October brought an end to Arsenal's record breaking unbeaten run in the Premiership. They were denied a 50th game without defeat in the top flight, were no longer recognised as invincible and began a mid-season slump. Defeat in the Carling Cup followed when both sides fielded under studies, and then there was a 2-4 League loss at Highbury, which extinguished any fading hopes of retaining the title, but it didn't kill off their ambitions to pip United to the runners-up berth.
Arsenal 3-1 Man United - 08 Aug - Community Shield Match Report
Man United 2-0 Arsenal - 24 Oct - Premiership Match Report
Arsenal 0-1 Man United - 01 Dec - Carling Cup Qtr-final Match Report
Arsenal 2-4 Man United - 01 Feb - Premiership Match Report

The 2-1 defeat, away to Birmingham, on the last day of the season was Arsenal's only loss in 15 League and Cup matches since the end of February - 12 of which were won (counting the goalless FA Cup replay with Sheffield United and decided on penalties, as a Gunners win).

MANCHESTER UNITED defend the trophy they won twelve months ago when beating Millwall 3-0, but even though they've lifted the silverware a record 11 times, and like Arsenal, are competing in their 17th final, they've never retained the FA Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in FA Cup history, winning five times (1990, 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2004). He will be leading out a team for the seventh time, United having also been runners-up to Everton (1-0) in 1995. Under the 63 year Scot, United have also won the Champions League once, the Premiership title eight times, the Cup Winners Cup, the League Cup, the Super Cup and the Inter-Continental Cup. Should United lose, Arsene Wenger would become the second most successful manager outright in the FA Cup with four victories.

United are unbeaten in 12 FA Cup matches (11 rounds). The fifth round loss to Arsenal two years ago is their only defeat in 15 FA Cup outings. A 59th minute goal by Shola Ameobi for Newcastle in last month's semi-final on this ground, is the only time United have conceded in this Cup run and ended a string of seven clean sheets - the second longest such sequence in the 134-year history of the competition.

If he plays, United skipper Roy Keane will be making his seventh FA Cup Final appearance - one of the previous six was for Nottingham Forest. Only Arthur Kinnaird has appeared in more finals - nine in all between 1873 and 1883 for The Wanderers and Old Etonians. Ryan Giggs has graced the final on five occasions, and like Keane has collected four winners' medals. Should they both add another, they would join Charles Wollaston (The Wanderers 1872-1878), Kinniard and James Forrest (Blackburn Rovers 1884-1891) at the top of the list with five each. Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Phil Neville each have three winners' medals in their possession.

These clubs have played each other 11 times in the FA Cup, but one of those was a replay. They are level pegging at five wins a piece. It is only the second time they've met in the final. In 1979 Arsenal won a dramatic final, devoid of flowing football but noted for its explosive conclusion. Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton gave Terry Neill's Gunners a 2-0 half time lead, but Gordon McQueen reduced the arrears four times from time and Sammy McIlroy equalised two minutes later for Dave Sexton's side. An euphoric Alan Sunderland then scored the winner at the death, in front of 100,000.


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HEAD TO HEAD


Comp    Total  Arsenal  Man Utd  Draws 
League  172      63         70         39 
FA Cup   11        5           5          1 





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FA CUP MEETINGS

Date  Rnd   Res   
10 Mar 1906  R4  Man Utd  2-3  Arsenal 
30 Jan 1937  R4  Arsenal  5-0  Man Utd 
10 Feb 1951  R5  Man Utd  1-0  Arsenal 
31 Jan 1962  R4  Man Utd  1-0  Arsenal 
12 May 1979  FNL  Arsenal  3-2  Man Utd 
16 Apr 1983  SF  Man Utd  2-1  Arsenal 
20 Feb 1988  R5  Arsenal  2-1  Man Utd 
11 Apr 1999  SF  Man Utd  0-0  Arsenal AET 
14 Apr 1999  SF R  Arsenal  1-2  Man Utd AET 
15 Feb 2003  R5  Man Utd  0-2  Arsenal 
03 Apr 2004  SF  Arsenal  0-1  Man Utd 





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ARSENAL
2nd PREM

Club stats
Best FA Cup record
WINNERS (nine times) Date  Rnd   Res   
26 Apr 1930  FNL  Arsenal  2-0  Huddersfield 
25 Apr 1936  FNL  Arsenal  1-0  Sheffield U 
29 Apr 1950  FNL  Arsenal  2-0  Liverpool 
08 May 1971  FNL  Arsenal  2-1  Liverpool AET 
12 May 1979  FNL  Arsenal  3-2  Man United 
15 May 1993  FNL  Arsenal  1-1  Sheffield W AET 
20 May 1993  FNL R  Arsenal  2-1  Sheffield W AET 
16 May 1998  FNL  Arsenal  2-0  Newcastle 
04 May 2002  FNL  Arsenal  2-0  Chelsea 
17 May 2003  FNL  Arsenal  1-0  Southampton 



Last season's FA Cup exit point
Date  Rnd   Res   
3 Apr 2004  SF  Arsenal  0-1  Man United 



This season's Cup run
Date  Rnd   Res   
09 Jan 2005  R3  Arsenal  2-1  Stoke C 
29 Jan 2005  R4  Arsenal  2-0  Wolves 
19 Feb 2005  R5  Arsenal  1-1  Sheff Utd
01 Mar 2005  R5 R  Sheff Utd  0-0  Arsenal 
 AET, Arsenal won 4-2 on penalties 
12 Mar 2005  QF  Bolton  0-1  Arsenal 
16 Apr 2005  SF  Arsenal  3-0  Blackburn





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MANCHESTER UNITED
3rd PREM

Club stats
Best FA Cup record
WINNERS (11 times) Date  Rnd   Res   
24 Apr 1909  FNL  Bristol City  0-1  Man United 
24 Apr 1948  FNL  Blackpool  2-4  Man United 
25 May 1963  FNL  Leicester C  1-3  Man United 
21 May 1977  FNL  Liverpool  1-2  Man United 
21 May 1983  FNL  Brighton  2-2  Man United AET 
26 May 1983  FNL R  Brighton  0-4  Man United 
18 May 1985  FNL  Everton  0-1  Man United AET 
12 May 1990  FNL  Crystal Palace  3-3  Man United AET 
17 May 1990  FNL  Crystal Palace  0-1  Man United 
14 May 1994  FNL  Chelsea  0-4  Man United 
11 May 1996  FNL  Liverpool  0-1  Man United 
22 May 1999  FNL  Man United  2-0  Newcastle 
22 May 2004  FNL  Man United  3-0  Millwall 



Last season's FA Cup exit point
Date  Rnd   Res   
22 May 2004  FNL  Man United  3-0  Millwall 



This season's Cup run
Date  Rnd   Res   
08 Jan 2005  R3  Man United  0-0  Exeter C 
19 Jan 2005  R3 R  Exeter C  0-2  Man United 
29 Jan 2005  R4  Man United  3-0  Middlesbrough 
19 Feb 2005  R5  Everton  0-2  Man United 
12 Mar 2005  QF  Southampton  0-4  Man United
17 Apr 2005  SF  Man United  4-1  Newcastle 


ANY PREDICTIONS??   I'm hoping for an Arsenal win

[eS El Duque]

Hopefully Man U wins